HUMA Committee Report

Dissenting Opinion of the Bloc Québécois

The Bloc Québécois commends the Committee for its work on a very important issue: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on seniors. Seniors have been the biggest victims of the pandemic. They were not only overrepresented in the number of deaths, but also suffered and continue to suffer the most from the effects of the virus, which include isolation, anxiety and financial difficulties. It was therefore important to hear from our older citizens and the groups that represent them. We thank all the witnesses who appeared before the Committee. Their testimony was necessary and unavoidable.

As we are increasingly seeing, the federal government has a disturbing and unwelcomed habit of trying to interfere in the jurisdictions of Quebec and the other provinces. Some of the recommendations in the Committee’s report on seniors clearly violate Quebec’s jurisdiction. This is the main reason why we cannot support the report and all of its recommendations.

Incursion into the jurisdictions of Quebec and other provinces and overlap

We cannot repeat it often enough: health falls under the jurisdiction of Quebec, which is responsible for its health care system, the working conditions of health care personnel and the standards that govern long-term care facilities.

The pandemic has more than ever demonstrated the need to strengthen Quebec’s health care system. Ottawa must work with Quebec and the provinces to ensure that everyone, including seniors, has access to quality care and that our health care workers get the reinforcements they need. Several witnesses agreed. Recommendations 2, 3, 5 and 17 suggest measures that are at best redundant, as they already exist in Quebec, and at worst do not respect Quebec’s jurisdiction.  

Quebec already has a recruitment and retention strategy, an elder abuse initiative[1] and a home support policy.[2] Similarly, if there is a need to reform the standards governing long‑term care, it is up to the provinces to do so.

The federal government’s role in health: funding

The federal government has not kept pace when it comes to health care funding and has now reached a historically low funding rate of 22% for Quebec. Recommendation 6 of the report misses the mark by suggesting only vague consultations with the governments of Quebec, the other provinces and the territories. Quebec and the other provinces have already spoken: the federal government must increase health transfers to 35% of health care costs, with no strings attached.

Respecting jurisdiction

The federal government can improve senior care while respecting its own jurisdiction. We welcome recommendation 14, which proposes to enhance the Guaranteed Income Supplement as of age 65. We also support recommendation 12, which proposes to improve the New Horizons program. Lastly, we welcome recommendation 15 of the report, which proposes to increase the Old Age Security pension for all seniors aged 65 and over. It is important to remember that in its 2021 budget, the government announced a 10% increase to the OAS pension, but only for those aged 75 and over, completely ignoring those aged 65 to 74. Several witnesses pointed out the inconsistency, and we hope that this recommendation will encourage the government to change course.

Conclusion

We are presenting this dissenting report because we care for seniors’ overall well-being. Seniors have a right to quality health care services, retirement income that allows them to age with dignity and concrete measures to ensure their security. We believe that all levels of government have a role to play in this regard so long as they act within their respective jurisdictions. The Bloc tried to adjust the recommendation in that sense, but in vain.