1. CANADIAN CENTRE FOR POLICY ALTERNATIVES

2. LYNNE FERNANDEZ

3. TWO SECTIONS Seniors’ Poverty Rate How the greatest Canadian policy success story may be unravelling The Truth about Taxes Avoiding the Generational Divide

4. GREATEST POLICY SUCCESS STORY IN CANADIAN HISTORY REDUCTION OF SENIORS’ POVERTY RATE

5. WHAT MACLEAN’S ARTICLE GOT RIGHT: GREATEST POLICY SUCCESS STORY IN CANADIAN HISTORY

6. CHILD POVERTY In 1989 the House of Commons passed a unanimous resolution “to seek to achieve the goal of eliminating poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000” and two years after the entire House of Commons voted to “develop an immediate plan to end poverty for all in Canada.” Neither the promised poverty elimination or plans have materialized.

7. HOW THINGS IMPROVED FOR SENIORS Direct policy programs: OAS CPP Guaranteed Income Supplement

8. A VERY DIFFERENT LABOUR MARKET Today’s ageing Canadians enjoyed: Higher rates of unionization Better wages More secure employment Better benefits, including pensions In sum, they worked in a standard work environment vs. a precarious work environment.

9. COMPREHENSIVE SET OF GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS Public Healthcare – Canada Health Act enforced by federal government: funded 50% Public education National housing strategy

10. THE WEALTHY SENIOR? Little data to back up the claim of many very wealthy seniors More income and wealth data required for 65+ group

11. THE BENEFIT CLAW BACK “DESPITE POLITICAL BLOWBACK, GOVERNMENTS MAY ALSO NEED TO START SUBJECTING SACRED SENIOURS’ BENEFITS LIKE PENSION INCOME-SPLITTING OR CPP AND OAS TO A ‘MEANS TEST”- A SLIDING SCALE BASED ON INCOME.”

12. A LIFETIME OF TAXES A LIFETIME OF PAYING TAXES = FULL ACCESS TO OAS CPP IS AN INSURANCE PROGRAM: IF YOU PAY IN, YOU SHOULD BENEFIT. PERIOD WE MUSTN’T ERODE THE UNIVERSALITY OF THESE PROGRAMS

13. NEED TO REFORM CPP OECD warns that reform needed if future ageing Canadians are to enjoy financial security Private pensions are mainly concentrated among high-income workers Coming decades will see an increase in poverty for ageing Canadians Women, who face more breaks in their careers and whose wages are not equal to men’s, will be hit the worst

14. NOT JUST ABOUT INCOME We need a new Healthcare Accord: Not renewed We need to renew Special Operating Agreements for low income housing: Not renewed WE NEED A RE-ENERGIZED FEDERAL COMMITMENT TO HEALTHCARE AND HOUSING: NOWHERE ON THE HORIZON

15. “CASH-STRAPPED GOVERNMENTS” HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICE BETWEEN SUPPORTING AGEING CANADIANS OR SUPPORTING YOUNGER CANADIANS….. WHE NEED TO ASK WHY????

16. THE TRUTH ABOUT TAXES TAX FAIRNESS

17. TAX CUTS Between 1995 and 2009 tax revenue had dropped from 36% of GDP to 33% of GDP. $50 billion LESS in public revenue.

18. A BUCK IS A BUCK Royal commission on taxation, or the Carter Commission said: A buck is a buck, or all income should be taxed at the same rates regardless of its source

19. WHEN A BUCK ISN’T A BUCK Wealth (company assets, real estate, gold bars etc.) subject to capital gains Capital gains taxed at half the rate of income (wages, pensions etc.)

20. IF A BUCK WERE A BUCK… If capital gains were taxed the same as employment income, we would increase revenues by $8.4 billion. So, we could add $8.4 billion dollars to pay for a pharma-care plan and national housing strategy that would help ALL low income Canadians

21. PENSION-INCOME SPLITTING INCOME SPLITTING ALLOWS HIGH- INCOME SENIOR TO TRANSFER INCOME TO LOWER-INCOME SPOUSE ELIMINATES HIGH-INCOME SENIOR’S OAS CLAWBACK

22. PENSION INCOME SPLITTING 7 out of 10 senior families get NO benefit at all from pension income splitting The richest 10% of senior families receive more than the bottom 70% combined. The cost of pension income splitting for senior couples in 2015 is estimated at $1.7 billion ($1.2 billion federally and $500 million provincially). In contrast, it would cost $1.5 billion a year to lift all Canadian seniors out of poverty.

23. ON ONE HAND… WE’VE SAID THAT OAS SHOULD NOT BE CLAWED BACK

24. ON THE OTHER HAND… THIS “CORRECTION” [PENSION SPLITTING] DOES NOT HELP LOW- INCOME PENSIONERS THE RICHEST 40% OF PENSIONERS GAIN MOST OF THE BENEFITS FROM PENSION INCOME SPLITTING THE POOER THE SENIOR FAMILY, THE LESS BENEFIT IT RECEIVES

25. POOREST 10% VS RICHEST 10% THE POOREST 10% OF SENIORS RECEIVE AN AVERAGE OF 10 CENTS IN TERMS OF A TAX BREAK THE RICHEST 10% RECEIVE AN AVERAGE OF $820

26. KEEP IT SIMPLE No claw backs: universality Tax income and wealth equally Eliminate tax loopholes Prevent tax avoidance Restore progressivity

27. CORPORATE TAX CUTS FALLEN FROM 28 PER CENT IN 2000 TO: 18% effective January 1, 2010 16.5% effective January 1, 2011 15% effective January 1, 2012

28. IT ADDS UP When federal government cut corporate income tax rate from 18.5% to 15%, we lost $1.75 BILLION for each percentage point decrease $6.125 BILLION

29. TAX HAVENS Cost Canadians $10 billion a year

30. PROGRESSIVE TAX SYSTEM AS INCOME INCREASES, SO SHOULD THE RATE AT WHICH IT IS TAXED

31. TAX RATES ON WEALTHY In 2014: 29% on earnings over $136,270. In 1981 rate was 43% on earnings over $119,000 (1981 dollars) Before WWII, was as high as 90%

32. TAX FAIRNESS A STRONGER HEALTHCARE SYSTEM: Renew 10-year accord Add pharma-care; long-term care; home care; Renew Federal Commitment to Canada Health Act

33. TAX FAIRNESS Means to help all low-income Canadians, including children Means to maintain improvements for ageing Canadians.

34. TAX FAIRNESS MEANS TO RESTORE NATIONAL HOUSING STRATEGY: Renew Special Operating Agreements which are due to start expiring Restore housing security to all low- income Canadians Eliminate national housing crisis

35. TAX FAIRNESS Restore the Employment Insurance Program National childcare program Restore funding to healthcare

36. TAX FAIRNESS Let’s avoid the generational divide

37. DIVIDE AND CONQUER Great success in lowering seniors’ poverty rate did NOT occur on backs of younger generations Deliberate policy decisions such as: CCP; OAS; GIS NATIONAL HOUSING STRATEGY VIABLE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE SYSTEM PROGRESSIVE INCOME TAX SYSTEM TO SUPPORT ALL THIS AND MORE: EDUCATION HEALTHCARE

38. IT WAS THE WHOLE PACKAGE A broad range of government supported programs and policies created the greatest policy success story in Canadian history By dismantling those programs, Canada’s ageing population will begin to feel the pinch again and… Tomorrow’s seniors will not do as well.

39. IT’S ABOUT ALL OF US REFUSE TO BUY INTO IT’S THEM OR IT’S US ARGUMENT A FAIR TAXATION SYSTEM = A FAIR SOCIETY