‘The golden years is a crock’: Seniors Tin Cup Rally pushing for pension reform

“Never. Not for a minute,” responded Laurie Hallock, one of many concerned seniors who took part.

“You know, I mean I pretty much lived my life thinking I’d be able to retire,” says Shelly Hallock, “And now I’m hoping I die at work so somebody will notice.”

“The golden years is a crock,” she adds.

Diane Lee is one of the organizers of the Kamloops rally, and says they’re advocating for pensions for future generations, not just the seniors of today.

“There has to be a liveable pension for everybody and let’s face it – if seniors were making more money, more money would be distributed in the community, they’d be healthier, the line ups at the hospital wouldn’t be as bad,” she reiterates, “Like it’s a whole chain reaction.”

Lee says many seniors have heart-wrenching stories of falling behind on bills, falling into a state of poverty, or falling into a situation where they are on the brink of homelessness.

“You work your lifetime, you pay into these things, and you expect them to be there for you when you need them.” She adds. “We’re just asking for basics, we’re not asking for luxury trips or anything outrageous. We just want people to be able to put food on the table and be able to pay for their medication and not have to worry about ‘do I pay the heat, or do I pop a pill this week’?”

Celeste Fummerton is another organizer of the local effort, and says pension reform is top of mind.

“Most seniors are making $7000 below the $25,000 poverty level in Canada it’s $25,000 and most seniors are getting $18,000 and those are the low income seniors that are getting the highest amount. And if you start working, they claw back on your Guaranteed Income Supplement. So it’s like, no matter what we do, they just want to keep us poor.”

Also in attendance to show support was Brenda Prevost, a Seniors Advocate and Development Manager with the Kamloops Centre for Seniors Information. Through her experience at the centre, Prevost says inflation, rental costs, and other rising expenses can be decimating to someone on a fixed, or limited income. And agreed that the federal government needs to step in.

“We’ve seen some seniors recently that have become homeless simply because they can’t afford a place to rent,” she notes, “On top of that, there’s the costs of groceries.”

Hallock and other rally participants say they’re certainly not living the dream of retirement many had in years past.

“I feel bad for these people that are not supporting it and not honking and saying oh my god. Because they’re the ones that are going to be here in a few years,” she reiterates, “They’re the ones that are going to be going without, far worse than we are, because it’s going to be gone. The pensions are going to be gone.”

The group is also working to gather signatures for a petition to bring pension reform to the House of Commons in Ottawa.

“There are 1.3 million seniors in B.C. and I think there’s over 8 million across Canada,” says Fummerton. “So if we unite we’re a force to be reckoned with. We just can’t live like this anymore, and we’re not just doing it for us, it’s for all generations.”

It was the first tin cup rally in Kamloops, and seniors who took part plan to keep their signs and voices ready for the next one.

by Dylana Kneeshaw

‘The golden years is a crock’: Seniors Tin Cup Rally pushing for pension reform

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