Ottawa – Cathy McLeod, Member of Parliament for Kamloops Thompson Cariboo says that she will not be supporting Private Member’s Motion M -141 recently introduced by NDP Deputy Leader Libby Davies.

M-141 calls on the government to eliminate the 10-year residency requirement, based on an applicant's country of origin, for Canadian citizens to qualify for Old Age Security benefits.

“This same type of Private Member’s Bill was introduced in the last Parliament by Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla.  I received thousands of letters, emails and calls of protest against that bill and want to reassure my constituents that I am certainly opposed to this proposed legislation,” said McLeod.

“In the case of Ruby Dhalla’s bill, I believe that three years was simply too little a time to reside in Canada before receiving OAS benefits and the cost to Canadian taxpayers was an estimated $700 million annually,” stated McLeod.

“Our government believes the current ten year requirement period strikes an appropriate balance between an individual's contribution to Canadian society and the economy and his or her access to a lifelong, publicly funded benefit.  It is reasonable to expect that a person live in Canada for this minimum period of time before being granted the right to OAS benefits.”

“I believe the top priority for Parliament at this time should be the economic recovery. We have to focus on creating jobs and economic growth for Canadian families, and that's exactly what we're doing,” concluded McLeod.