Chris's Posts

The federal government bilked seniors out of millions because of a miscalculation in the cost of living, the New Democratic Party says.

NDP candidate Tom King joined Chris Charlton, member of Parliament for Hamilton Mountain, in calling for rebates at a gathering of seniors yesterday.

Charlton said the error could have cost anyone on the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, or a private pension plan.

"From 2001 to 2006, Statistics Canada made a mistake calculating the consumer price index," she said.

The index measures the price increase in items regularly purchased by households, from groceries and clothing to transportation and fuel.

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP):

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table another set of petitions that arises out of my national campaign to fight for fairness for ordinary Canadians, and in particular for seniors who were shortchanged by their government as a result of an error in calculating the rate of inflation.

The government has acknowledged the mistake made by Statistics Canada but is refusing to take any remedial action.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to take full responsibility for this error which negatively impacted their incomes from 2001 to 2006, and to take the required steps to repay every Canadian who has been shortchanged by a government program because of the miscalculation of the CPI.

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP):

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table another petition today that arises out of my national campaign to fight for fairness for ordinary Canadians and, in particular, for seniors, who were shortchanged by their government as a result of an error in calculating the rate of inflation.

The government has acknowledged the mistake made by Statistics Canada but is refusing to take any remedial action.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to take full responsibility for this error, which negatively impacted their incomes from 2001 to 2006, and to take the required steps to repay every Canadian who has been shortchanged by a government program because of the miscalculation of the CPI.

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP):

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this rare opportunity to follow up on a question I asked the minister recently about an error admitted to by Statistics Canada in calculating the rate of inflation.

As members will recall, I have been raising this issue in the House on behalf of seniors since it first became public in August 2006. I would like to remind members of the House and people who may be watching us tonight on television what is at issue here.

Between July 2001 and March 2006, Statistics Canada underestimated the consumer price index by one-tenth of one percentage point in each of those five years. This means that recipients of the old age security, Canada pension plan and the guaranteed income supplement were shortchanged on their cost of living adjustments for a period of five years.

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP):

Mr. Speaker, I have a second petition as well, which speaks to my campaign for seniors who were shortchanged by their government as a result of an error in calculating the rate of inflation. The government has acknowledged the mistake made by Statistics Canada but is refusing to take any remedial action.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to take full responsibility for this error which negatively impacted their incomes from 2001 to 2006, and take the required steps to repay every Canadian who has been shortchanged by a government program because of the miscalculation of the CPI.