Winter 2001

Dear Constituents,

The horrible events of September 11^th and following have changed the world.  While it is hard to comprehend the motivation behind these crimes against humanity, we cannot allow the terrorist threat to undermine our freedoms and our democratic way of life.  We all share the pain of the families of the victims of terrorist acts and we pray that our world leaders make wise decisions that will protect humanity and bring those responsible to justice.

Hundreds of constituents have communicated their views to me on a broad range of related issues and I thank you for your patience.  I have not been able to return every call and respond to every letter and email.  They are simply too numerous.  My staff and I have been dealing first with those matters where constituents need assistance.  However, I encourage you to continue sending me your views which help me to better represent your interests.

One of the important messages that has been repeated by world leaders is that we have to get back to work and restore our normal activities.  If we don’t, the terrorists win.  The travel and tourism industry has experienced a very significant downturn and we need to restore the confidence of travelers in the safety and security of air travel.  As a member of the Transport Committee, we have been working on airport and airline safety and our report and recommendations should be available by Christmas.

The Health Committee hearings on Reproductive Technologies including stem cell research should be completed early in the new year.  Following that, the Committee will commence a comprehensive study of Genetically Modified Organisms “GMOs” in our food system.  I know that this issue is of interest to many constituents and I will keep you informed.  As well, the study by Parliament of illicit drugs is still in the early stages and my Taxation Committee continues its work on tax incentives for the development of alternative energy sources and environmental initiatives to improve air quality.

The response to my survey on the Aging of Canadian Society was outstanding.  We received almost 2,000 responses and it really paints a picture of the range of views that we have on a number of issues.  We invested a great deal of time putting the project together and analyzing the results and I thought it would be helpful to provide you with a detailed report.  I would be interested in your feedback on the results and the sample of comments provided.

The comments provided in the survey responses highlighted a number of areas in which more detailed information might be helpful.  In the next householder, I will provide that information and samples of your reactions to the survey results and comments.

As part of my work, I provide certificates to students graduating from both elementary and secondary school and I also attend a number of graduation ceremonies to show my support for our youth.  As well, I am often invited to visit schools to speak to children who are studying government.  On the cover of this report, I am pictured speaking to grade 5 students at Neil C. Matheson Elementary School.  They had excellent questions and I was touched by their concern for the children in war zones.  We are very fortunate to live in a country like Canada and I hope that this Christmas, we all will find a way to share our good fortune with those in need.

From my Family to yours

may you have peace and joy

during the Christmas Season

and throughout the New Year

Sincerely,

Paul Szabo

OVERVIEW

As reported in my Fall Householder, I conducted a survey on the issue of the aging of Canadian society.  About 2,000 responses were received and I was very pleased with the excellent quality of input that was received.  Thank you to all who shared their views with me because it helps me to do a better job on the issues of importance to you.

Some respondents said they did not have enough information to make an informed opinion; some said why are you asking me to do your job and still others said they were happy that they didn't have my job.  However, the vast majority of responses were thoughtfully completed usually with comments. I appreciated all the thank you notes and kind words for providing an opportunity to express your thoughts.  It is doubtful that any one person can be fully knowledgeable on all issues and there really is no simple answer to complex questions.  I will have an opportunity to debate and discuss the merits of some of these issues and the collective input of 2,000 people will be very helpful.

The survey has identified areas where there is a need for me to provide you with more information and I will be addressing those needs in this and future householders.  As you might expect, the survey also identified areas where there is a strong consensus of views and some areas where views where divergent.

Some respondents were concerned that the questions asked represented what the government intended to do.  This is not the case.  In fact, I developed questions which I hoped would stimulate some response and give respondents as broad an opportunity as possible to express what was on their minds.  In this report, I will explain why each question was specifically asked and outline the overall response.  I will also share with you samples of some of the statements that constituents made frequently or which caught my attention.

INCREASE THE RETIREMENT AGE

Question:  Since we live much longer, should consideration be given to increasing the retirement age gradually over many years?  For example: increase the retirement age to 67 by one month per year for 24 years.

Reason for the question:  In the United States, they have already decided to increase the retirement age to 67 and it is being phased in over 18 years.  They will also experience the impacts of an aging society such as increased health and social security costs.  In Canada, some sectors are subject to Federal Labour law which requires mandatory retirement at age 65.  Today we have 5 people in the labour force for every pensioner.  In 20 years this will reduce to 3 workers for every pensioner even though our population will have increased from 31 million to 35 million.  This means that in 20 years, there will be far less resources per senior to sustain the current benefits that seniors enjoy today.  This causes me substantial concern because even today many seniors are already under financial strain and the situation will only get worse if senior supports and services face erosion.  As you can see, there are many issues to discuss and the responses were very broad.

Survey Results:  YES   40%     NO  53 %     UNSURE  7%

Comments Received:

·        We should retire by age 65 to make room for young people.

·        Retirement age should be the choice of the individual.

·        If a 65 year old has their health and wants to keep working, they should be able to do that without penalty.

·        We already work hard enough and long enough.

·        With the high pressure in the workplace, we don't need to work longer.

·        Too few people live long enough to enjoy retirement.

·        Most seniors are burned-out by age 65.

·        What a waste of good talent retiring at age 50 and 55.

·        We should retire at 50 not 67.

·        Is retirement mandatory at 65?  I plan to work until I die.

·        There are not enough young people in the work force to carry the old.

·        Old people are too set in their ways.  Let new ideas take over.

·        Forced retirement should be illegal.

·        I do not expect to get anything out of the bankrupt CPP.

PERMIT USER FEES OR PRIVATE HEALTH CARE

Question:  As the demands on healthcare increase, should consideration be given to user fees for certain healthcare services or to allowing the ability to pay for services from private healthcare providers?

Reason for the question:  User fees to curb abuse and running a parallel private system for those who want to pay for faster service are long time debates.  One opposition party has pushed for these and the Royal Commission on health which is headed by Roy Romanow is consulting across Canada on these and other issues related to the future of our health system.

Survey Results:  YES  46%     NO   44%     UNSURE  10%

Comments Received:

·        Modest user fees are necessary to prevent unnecessary visits and treatment.

·        If we went private, many people would not get proper care.

·        Private health care would steal resources from the public system.

·        Those who want to pay for faster care can get it in the US.

·        Just look in a hospital emergency room to see all the abusers of the system.

·        Waiting lists are a disgrace.  If some people will pay then it will shorten the lines.

·        Photo Health ID cards would reduce the abuse.

·        Healthcare should not become just for the privileged.

·        I would rather pay more taxes to cover some of the extra costs.

·        Hospitals spend money foolishly so they can get more money the next year.

·        We need to fully privatize health care so those who do not take care of themselves will have to pay for their choices.

·        Health care is a basic Canadian right.  Do not tamper with it.

·        Seniors should never have to worry about whether the public health system will take care of them in their final years.

·        Let lotteries and casinos pay for health.

·        Demands on healthcare can be reduced if Canadians were better educated on how to take care of themselves and if the environment is improved.

·        People abuse the system because it is free.

·        We should levy charges on those who do reckless activity.

·        Seniors would be hurt the most by user fees because they have more health needs.

·        User fees would be a barrier to the poor obtaining care they need.

·        User fees mean the rich will benefit and the poor will suffer.

·        We do not want Canada to become another United States.

·        Basic health services must remain universal.  That is what makes Canada the best country in the world to live in.

·        People wouldn't abuse the system as much if we told them how much it cost.

·        No!  Not in this lifetime or any other.

INCREASE IMMIGRATION AND FAMILY SUPPORT

Question:  Should consideration be given to increasing immigration levels or to encouraging families to have more children as a way to address the projected decline in population base and in our economic growth?

Reason for the question:  In 20 years, one third of our population will be over 55 years of age and families are having far less children than ever before.  As our seniors pass on the population starts to shrink because more people are dying than are being born.  Less people working and paying taxes and buying goods and services means our economy shrinks and we could not sustain the programmes and services we have today.  The issue is not how we can continue to increase our population as much as it is how can we sustain our labour force so that we can sustain the quality of life we have built in Canada.  We can replenish our soon to be declining labour force by having more children and / or by bringing in immigrants.  Quebec recently introduced an enhanced child allowance for families with children to promote larger families.

Survey Results:  YES   47%     NO   41%     UNSURE  11%

Comments Received:

·        Increasing the population to boost the economy is short sighted.

·        We have too many people already so stop the immigration.

·        Make sure immigrants are healthy so they don't abuse our health system.

·        We need more support for stay at home caregivers so families can have more children.

·        Immigration should focus on quality not quantity.

·        Tighten up immigration so they don't abuse our health and welfare systems.

·        Let's look after the people we already have in Canada first.

·        Immigrants put nothing into the system so why should they get anything back.

·        Immigration costs are out of hand.

·        Stop letting older people into the country because they pay no tax.

·        Humanity should be working towards zero population growth to save the ecology.

·        No more children because schools are overcrowded and it means more taxes.

·        I already feel like a minority in my own country.

·        Immigrants built Canada and immigrants will ensure that we have a stable labour force necessary to provide goods and services and pay taxes to support the aged.

·        Our population is too high as it is.

·        Immigrants should not receive immediate access to medical and pension benefits.

·        Immigrants shouldn't be bringing parents and grandparents to Canada.

·        Children are just too expensive.  Help families with children.

·        Every time we increase immigration, we dilute our standard of living.

·        Increase qualified immigrants but stop accepting refugees who drain Canada.

·        Stop immigration.  They live in luxury while seniors struggle from day to day.

·        Just allow healthy, attractive unmarried immigrants so more women would get married and have children.

·        Immigration with better screening is the only solution.  Responsible families will have children because they really want them, not because they can get some money.

·        Take care of the economy first by training and schooling our unemployed.

·        We are letting too many criminals into Canada.

·        Increasing immigration does nothing for our economic growth.

·        Limit immigration to those who can contribute and to real refugees.

·        Young couples who came from broken or dysfunctional families are likely to have less children.  Families need to be stable so that when their children become adults, they will want larger families.

POSSIBLE CUTS IN OTHER PROGRAMS

Question:  Should cuts be made to other programs or services to offset the increased costs of an aging society?  Which ones?

Reason for the question: If an aging society puts greater demands on health care and social security, we may have to cut back in other lower priority areas to meet those increased costs.  This question was intended to determine what spending you felt could be cut back or eliminated.

Survey Results:  YES   43%     NO   34%     UNSURE  22%

Comments Received:

·        Foreign Aid, Immigration, Welfare, Defence and Bilingualism were the most frequent responses.

·        Reduce handouts to third world countries.

·        Eliminate funding to special interest groups.

·        Stop subsidizing immigrants who are using and abusing Canada.

·        Too much multiculturalism.  Look where all the crime is.

·        Cut welfare for immigrants.

·        Cutting taxes destroys our services.

·        Cut foreign aid.  What about domestic aid first.

·        Cut unemployment benefits for seasonal workers.

·        The US protects us so just cut defence.

·        Cut arts, culture and sports spending.  They are a waste.

·        Eliminate the Senate, Governor General and Foreign Embassies.

·        Defence - eliminate it.  We are a small country and should behave like one.

·        All spending should be cost/benefit justified.

·        Defence should be our lowest priority.  It’s a farce - scrap it.

PAY DOWN DEBT

Question:  Do you feel we should pay down more of our debt each year so we do not unduly burden future generations.

Reason for the question:  Governments collect taxes to provide programs and services to the people.  As a nation, we also spend money on security, defence, foreign aid, economic development etc.  If expenses exceed taxes collected, we have a deficit and must borrow to pay for the shortfall.  Canada ran deficits for about 25 years until 1995 when the budget was finally balanced.  The accumulated borrowings including compound interest rose to over $565 billion.  Since 1995, Canada has had annual surpluses which means that at the end of the year, revenues exceeded expenses.  The full amount of the surplus in any year is used to pay down the debt and we have reduced our debt by almost $35 billion since 1995.

Some argue that Canadians over the last quarter century took out $565 billion more than they put in while others suggest that the money was used to improve the health and well-being of our citizens and our country which became the best country in the world in which to live and work.

The question is a matter of whether future generations will benefit from our past decisions.  If not, then the generations that created the debt should pay it off.  To do that, we need to have larger surpluses each year by paying more taxes or reducing programmes, services and other spending.  Another way to increase the surplus is to increase our economy and employ more people who will pay taxes.

Everyone agrees that we should pay down debt and the question is how do we do it and over what period of time.  It is hard to imagine what Canada would be like if we did not invest in our citizens and our country.  You should also be aware that Canada has also accumulated many assets over these years and the cost of those assets has been included in the calculation of deficits and surpluses.  The Fraser Institute estimates that Canada's assets excluding land value exceeds $1 trillion.  We are a very wealthy country in many ways.

Survey Results:  YES   83%     NO   10%     UNSURE  7%

Comments Received:

·        The debt was caused by government spending.   Just stop spending.

·        Stop giving money away to other countries.

·        Our generation created it and we should be responsible to get rid of it

·        Why should future generations pay for things they will not benefit from.

·        This should be priority one.  We need to live within our means.

·        We need a long-term plan to reduce our debt.

·        Paying interest is a waste of good money.

·        Some debt makes sense when you are sustaining services during bad times.

·        You need a housewife to run the country.  I do not run my house on a deficit.

·        More of our budget surplus should be used to pay down debt.

·        Debt reduction benefits every taxpayer.

·        Debt is okay, just like a house mortgage provided you can afford to carry it and pay it down over a reasonable period.

·        Not at the expense of our health care system or social programs.

·        Our goal should be zero debt.

·        Yes.  I am 40 and if my parents thought like me we might be debt free.

·        If we pay down debt, we save interest and can use it to cover increased costs.

·        Pay it off because we get no current benefit.

·        Our debt to GDP ratio is quite good and we should continue to improve it.

·        We need to continue to run deficit free and allow economic growth to shrink the debt.

·        We caused it and we should pay for it.  This is a no brainer.

·        We could burden future generations even worse by not sustaining social programmes and services that took generations to put in place.

OTHER EQUALLY IMPORTANT PRIORITIES

Question:  Are there other priorities which you feel are as important as addressing the consequences of an aging society?  Which ones?

Reason for the question:  Canadians have diverse priorities.  Depending on our state in life, we value different things.  Seniors value health care, higher pensions; a young executive values lower taxes; a family with children values family supports and youth want lower education costs.  This question was intended to identify what priorities you felt were as important as addressing the needs of an aging society.

Survey Results:  YES   85%     NO   4%     UNSURE  11%

Comments Received:

·        Health, Environment, Poverty, Seniors Benefits and the issue of Homelessness were the most frequent responses.

·        If we do not take care of the environment, no one will get old.

·        Poverty in Canada is just not acceptable.  Please take care of the poor.

·        Taxation needs to be reduced to stop the brain drain to the US.

·        A clean environment, fair taxation and accessible education are the key items.

·        I would need a couple of thousand pages to tell you what to do but then you would just toss it out so what's the use.

·        The military needs to be rebuilt.

·        We need to beef up our sovereignty from the U.S.

·        Old people always get the short end of the stick.

·        Invest in youth programs to stop youth crime.

·        Seniors should not pay any tax since they paid all their lives.

·        Take care of seniors first.  They need more in home services.

·        Environment, environment and environment.

·        Without diligent stewardship of our environment there will be no aging society and no future generations.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The potential consequences of an aging society are slowly getting more attention and I think the survey was helpful to all of us.  In future householders, I will provide you with more information on some of the issues which might be helpful.  For example, more than 75% of the health care costs in your lifetime will be incurred during the last 2 years of your life.  Seniors by far have the most visits to doctors and hospitals and since so many seniors live on a fixed and often low income, medical user fees would hit seniors the hardest.  The Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care will give us the facts we need to make the right decisions.

OTTAWA OFFICE MISSISSAUGA OFFICE

Room 175 1684 Lakeshore Road West

Confederation Building Unit 20

House of Commons Mississauga, Ontario

Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6 L5J 1J5

Telephone: 613-992-4848 905-822-2111

Fax: 613-996-3267 905-822-2115

Email: szabop@parl.gc.ca szabop1@parl.gc.ca

Visit us on the Internet: www.paulszabo.com

Special personal messages of congratulations may be requested for those Birthdays and Anniversaries listed below. As these events are very important occasions, you may want to request a message, when applicable, from Her Majesty The Queen, the Governor General and the Prime Minister of Canada.

Greetings from Her Majesty the Queen are available for 100th Birthdays and every 5th year thereafter, and 60th Wedding Anniversaries and every 5th year thereafter. Please note that copies of birth certificates and marriage certificates are required by Government House for messages from The Queen.

Birthdays

75th and over - message from the Prime Minister

90th - 99th - message from the Governor General

100th and over - message from Her Majesty The Queen (copy of birth certificate required)

Wedding Anniversaries

25th and over - message from the Prime Minister

50th - 59th - message from the Governor General

60th and over - message from Her Majesty The Queen (copy of marriage certificate required)

Please complete this form to inform us of the occasion and return it postage free to my Constituency Office.

Visit us on the Internet: www.paulszabo.com

Mississauga Office Hours: Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Appointments can be scheduled during office hours or other arrangements can be made by calling the office.

Constituents may write to any Member of Parliament or Cabinet Minister postage free. Simply address your envelope to the particular Member, c/o House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6. Your views and suggestions are important.