Candidates in the Sault Ste. Marie-Algoma riding gathered for a Meet the Candidates for MP event held at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 Wednesday.
The meeting focused on issues of concern to seniors, such as health care and pensions.
The question and answer session was hosted by the Algoma Branch of the National Association of Federal Retirees (NAFR) and District 3 Algoma RTOERO (formerly the Retired Teachers’ of Ontario).
Candidates from the four major parties were invited to attend.
Liberal incumbent Terry Sheehan was joined by Robyn Kiki Eshkibok of the Green Party of Canada and New Democratic Party candidate Laura Mayer.
Conservative candidate Hugh Stevenson did not attend.
Candidates were asked “What would your government do to enable older Canadians to live independently and age with dignity in the place of their choice?”
“We continue to work with senior groups,” Liberal candidate Sheehan said.
“We could put in place caregiver tax credits for those that are looking after a loved one that they can claim. We've also supported the work of PSWs because a lot of people can live on their own if they have supports at their home. Those are some of the measures that we have done.”
Sheehan also mentioned the Horizons for Seniors program that has supported seniors living at home by bringing groceries and medications to them.
“That was very important as well. But we'll continue to work with seniors and seniors groups to make sure that seniors have a choice of where they wish to live.”
Green Party candidate Eshkibok said her party is committed to building a health-care system dedicated to caring for all ages.
NDP candidate Mayer said her party believes a national pharmacare program would go a long way toward enabling seniors to live in the place of their choice.
“We know that a universal pharmacare program actually saves the health-care system money because people are getting the medication they need for preventative care and they're not getting into a crisis, which costs the provincial government and the federal government more money.”
Mayer said she would like to see improved services for seniors living in rural and remote communities.
The panel of hosts asked the candidates if their parties support an expanded publicly funded national pharmacare program to cover the cost of a wide range of essential medications for seniors.
The first phase of a pharmacare plan is now in effect, covering contraception and diabetes medications.
“Universal pharmacare is a priority for the NDP,” Mayer said.
“It was part of the confidence and supply agreement with the Liberal government that brought pharmacare in, even in its reduced form. It was part of that agreement and the NDP MPs that were in Parliament had to push incredibly hard to get that done. No one should go without the medicine they need because they can't afford it, but that's the reality for millions of Canadians,” Mayer said.
Sheehan said he is proud of the work his party did in pharmacare during its last term in office regarding contraception and diabetes medications.
“It was really important. To me universal health care isn't universal without pharmacare,” Sheehan said.
He said the Liberals planned to move forward on pharmacare before the NDP pulled its support for the Liberals in late 2024.
“Mark Carney is dedicated to improving our health-care system and that includes primary care,” Sheehan said, though he did not provide details on any future Liberal plans for expanded pharmacare.
Eshkibok responded by stating a clean environment leads to greater health and less reliance on the health-care system.
“It would prevent a lot of the cancer being put upon us. We need to speak up for the right to have clean air and clean water and put less strain on our health-care system.”
An audience member asked the candidates how their parties would address poverty among seniors, pointing out that many Canadians don’t have a workplace pension and live below the poverty line relying on Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement.
“Universal guaranteed income, I think, is the thing that we need to be looking at,” Mayer replied.
“I know quite a number of people who are now looking at retirement and seeing that they don't have any kind of umbrella or any kind of nest egg to retire on and so they are working longer and longer to actually support themselves. So I think that universal guaranteed income is the thing that we need to look towards to lift people out of poverty,” Mayer said.
Sheehan said that the last Liberal government worked to increase old age benefits and that Liberal Leader Mark Carney has promised he will raise the GIS by five per cent.
Sheehan also said the Liberals have already eased costs for seniors in areas such as dental care.
“I was very proud of the dental care that we rolled out for seniors, saving hundreds and hundreds of dollars for seniors,” Sheehan said.
Eshkibok said her party sees higher corporate taxes as a way to redistribute money to those living in poverty.
“I think that once we hold those big corporations that are here in our own community accountable, we'll be able to see a lot of change happen a lot quicker than waiting on policy from Ottawa,” Eshkibok said.
Approximately 60 people attended Wednesday's meeting.
The federal election is Monday, April 28.
The Elections Canada list of confirmed candidates for Sault Ste. Marie-Algoma includes:
- Robyn Kiki Eshkibok, Green Party of Canada
- Laura Mayer, New Democratic Party
- Terry Sheehan, Liberal Party of Canada
- Hugh Stevenson, Conservative Party of Canada
- James Collins, Christian Heritage Party of Canada