NDP government would restore OAS retirement age to 65 in first year: Mulcair

TORONTO – Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair says an NDP government would reverse changes made to Old Age Security by restoring the retirement age to 65 instead of 67.

The governing Conservatives introduced the changes last spring, which are slated to take effect in 2023.

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Toronto, Mulcair says the NDP would kill the changes within its first year of forming a government, which would help about 300,000 seniors who are living below the poverty line.

He says he’d also strengthen the Canada Pension Plan and the Quebec Pension Plan, and ensure that seniors with workplace pensions are protected if a company goes bankrupt.

Mulcair says the NDP would also propose a caregiver tax credit for seniors who take care of their spouses, which would take some pressure off an already taxed health-care system.

He says the federal government could also have a role in a national pharmacare plan in collaboration with the provinces.