Image Credit: The Canadian Press

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Seniors shouldn’t complain about a few hundred dollars

May 13, 2020 | 4:45 AM

KAMLOOPS — NO MATTER HOW MUCH money is handed out during this COVID-19 pandemic, it will never be enough. Businesses want more, students want more, parents want more, the unemployed want more and now the seniors want more.

The announcement yesterday of a one-time $300 grant for those on Old Age Security and an additional $200 for those on the Guaranteed Income Supplement has been greeted with a distinct lack of enthusiasm by seniors’ advocates.

It’s not enough, they say. And, true, it’s not going to change anyone’s life.

It’s a pocket full of spending money. If Justin Trudeau wanted to do something important for seniors he would have eliminated the mandatory annual RRIF withdrawal instead of reducing it by 25 per cent. He would have permanently increased the OAS and GIS, which currently stand at a few hundred dollars.

Boogie The Bridge

Boogie The Bridge Event Information

Apr 19, 2024

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: Police confirm diversion of government-supplied drugs

15h ago

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: A fond farewell to the airwaves from the Armchair Mayor

19h ago

On the other hand, seniors are among those hit the least hard by this pandemic, financially at least. While their savings have been eroded somewhat, their government and corporate pensions are intact.

This isn’t about long-term solutions to their financial problems, it’s about a gesture that says, “We haven’t forgotten you; our seniors mean something to us as a country.”

Canada has an appropriately guilty conscience right now about its failure of seniors in long-term care facilities, which account for some 80 per cent of COVID-19 deaths. Something immediate needed to be done by way of apology.

But seniors outside long-term care haven’t seen their lifestyles deteriorate much over the weeks of the pandemic. So let’s set aside the complaints about how seniors built this country.

The current generation of seniors did not build this country unless construction didn’t begin until the 1940s or 1950s. We’ve contributed, certainly, but benefited, too.

Three hundred bucks is a gesture, like a thank-you card, a small token of appreciation. So let’s accept it, politely, for what it is.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.