The Newfoundland and Labrador’s Seniors’ Advocate (OSA) has joined with her national colleagues in writing the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland and Minister of Labour and Seniors, the Honourable Steven MacKinnon, to highlight the importance of including seniors in the $250 rebate, currently called the Working Canadian Rebate.      

This action is taken in acknowledgment of the fact that the median income of seniors in Canada is $33,350 (2022). In Newfoundland and Labrador, the median income of seniors is the lowest in the country at $27,800. Seniors living on fixed incomes struggle to deal with the rising costs for housing, heating, transportation, medical supplies, and food. Seniors have paid taxes for decades – and are still paying taxes – yet they are now the fastest growing group of food bank users in Canada. This is wrong.

Quote
“Initiatives that see any level of government utilizing tax dollars to assist citizens to deal with the cost of living should be targeted to those in our society who need it most. Seniors in Newfoundland and Labrador are struggling financially; my colleagues, the Seniors’ Advocates in other provinces, are also hearing these same concerns. It is incumbent on those with the authority to utilize public funds to remember that we are a caring society in Canada and taking care of our neighbours is at the heart of who we are as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and indeed Canadians.”
Susan Walsh
Seniors’ Advocate Newfoundland and Labrador

The Letter Can Be Accessed at: www.seniorsadvocatenl.ca/pdfs/FederalMinistersonWorkingCanadiansRebateDec2024.pdf

-30-

Media contact
Arlene Mullins
Administrative Officer
709- 729-6603, 1-833-729-6603 (toll-free)
seniorsadvocate@seniorsadvocatenl.ca