The numbers and politics behind Harper's proposed changes to Old Age Security.
Old Age Security
The implications of denying prisoners pensions
Fear, anger and distraction are great tools for getting your way, particularly in government.
If the opposition asks about detainee torture, accuse them of supporting terrorists. If they want information from your staff, bully your way into a meeting and shout them down ...and if you want to pass law without interference, attack a monster no one will dare to defend.
It hardly matters that with the recent proposed amendment to the Old Age Security Act the pitchforks came out before the bill itself. Prime Minister Stephen Harper learned in March that serial child murderer Clifford Olson was collecting OAS and Guaranteed Income Supplement payments. He was outraged, and ordered that they be stopped.
May 11, 2012 |
It's simply untrue Old Age Security is no longer sustainable.
April 18, 2012 |
A new CCPA report, "Working After Age 65: What is at Stake?," looks at some of the realities of working past age 65, and examines the potential impact of increasing the OAS eligibility age.
Harpo goes to Davos
In Davos, Harpo shared his plans to cut the Old Age Security supplement to Canadian seniors. Only one problem: he never told Canadian seniors.
Related rabble.ca story:
Not Rex: Harpo goes to Davos
Harpo let the whole world in on a little secret at the World Economic Forum in Davos: he's going to cut the Old Age Security supplement to Canadian seniors. Only one problem, he never told Canadian seniors. Not Rex calls him out from the cheap seats.
A number is never just a number: Grey power
• 0
Number of times Prime Minister Stephen Harper campaigned on proposed changes to Canada's Old Age Security (OAS) during the 2011 federal election.
• 1985
The last time a prime minister (Brian Mulroney) tried to change the public pension system without campaigning to do it during the federal election. A seniors' movement dubbed Grey Power forced him to back off. (Source and source)
• 1952
![Karl Nerenberg](http://rabble.ca/sites/rabble/files/imagecache/thumbnail/category_pictures/Karl.jpg "Karl Nerenberg joins rabble to cover news for the rest of us from Parliament Hill. Karl has been a journalist for over 25 years including eight years as the producer of the CBC show The House. He has written scripts for documentary films and long-form television reports for such shows as Le Point and Actuel on Radio Canada television and The Journal on CBC-TV. Karl also founded and, for five years, edited the magazine Federations: What's new in federalism worldwide.
Karl has been awarded a Gemini award, a Best International Documentary Series award (from "la communauté des televisions francophones"), a CBC Radio Award for Best New Series (C'est la vie) among others. As a broadcaster, Mr. Nerenberg produced and directed television series and documentaries in a wide range of genres and on a great variety of subjects -- from civil war in Central America, to the crisis in South Africa's Apartheid system.
Karl works in both English and French, and can be reached at karl@rabble.ca")
