Traffic at the CTF website has gone through the roof – wonder why?
Convicted criminals like serial child killer Clifford Olson, who are over the age of 65 and reside in federal and provincial jails, are currently eligible to collect Old Age Security (OAS) and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) payments from Canadian taxpayers.
These programs are intended to help seniors make ends meet, not to fill the bank accounts of incarcerated convicts.
Go help out them out here, if you’re so inclined. They hope to deliver the petition in a couple of weeks. My guess is they’ll need a truck.
Re Clifford Olson. There is actually a better way to save the one hundred and twenty thousand dollars that it costs to keep this animal incarcerated.
Two words: “general population”
That would fix it.
Only in Canada!
Thanks Kate for the link. Signed the petition.
Thanks for the reminder. From the e-mail from the CTF it appeared that they were doing the same as the dipper dip-stick in only going after serial killers. I went back and read the actual petition that was in the attachment and signed.
Been there. Done that.
By the way, I found Senator Finley’s call for an inquiry. It’s in Hansard.
OAS and GIS should not be denied to every convicted individual. Those serving a life and I really do mean life sentence, such as Clifford Olson perhaps. However, there are many serving time that may only be incarcerated for a couple of years while eligible for these pensions and to apply the same to them would not be in any one’s best interest. We really do not want to make case law using the most extreme of the prison population. Olson represents a small percentage of those incarcerated. Interestingly, in many European countries those serving time receive pensions; although in some countries such as France 10% is deducted for a victims fund.
A guy in jail, hardly working gets $1100.
How is it?
After working 30 years, most of them paid the full amount to the CP, person does not get that kind of money.
How does this work?
Does anybody know?
I hate engaging trolls but it’s come up so often I have to ask:
By what reasoning should this country follow *anything* that is done in Europe? Have you seen first hand what they have done/are doing to their societies?
All prisoners should get OAS and CPP (if they earned it).
It should then be immediately garnisheed to pay for the cost of their incarceration.
Wow, who knew that universal programs would apply to everyone? Who could have possibly guessed at that? Inevitable, and easily foreseeable; this is where low tax Liberalism gets you folks. This is where you end up when you abdicate responsibility for caring for your elders to the state.
Unless you are actually going to lobby to end CPP, OAS, GIS, and a whole lot of other universal benefits, you really are wasting your time here. The problem is not that Olson is being paid tax dollars, it is that the government is so large and and has so many programs, and spends so much that it has the money in the first place.
But, feel free to argue about how you would tweak the program but leave it largely in place. I am sure more rules and regulations and bureaucrats can more effectively solve the problem. Won’t somebody please think of the children and all that. Heck, maybe you can propose an additional universal program?
I was listening to them talk about the story on CKNW radio in Vancouver last week, and even Ujjal Dosanjh agreed that this shouldn’t be happening, although he was equivocating about contingencies and exceptions and whatnot. Even the sort-of-left Christy Clark was calling him on it with the following points that I agree with.
It should be simple: as long as you’re in jail, you
a) get no pension or OAS or anything like that
b) don’t get to vote
And to those who would scream about “the prisoner has rights”, I say (credit Jim Carrey in Liar Liar):
STOP BREAKING THE LAW, ***HOLE!!!!
My Dad is in a veterans home. It is run on federal funding from Veterans affairs. They take his pension to pay for his keep.
Olson is in a prison run on federal funding from Corrections Canada.
He keeps his pension.
Olson may one day be released. (This is Canada, the Libs could be re-elected soon.)
My father will not leave his facility alive.
Financially, my father would be better off in prison.
Is this a wonderful country, or what.
T-in many European Countries…
Please name those
Many is What 2? 3?
Does Great Britain have Pensions for convicts? No they do not. Last time i checked we are part of the Commonwealth Not part of the European Union. And being part of the Commonwealth does not constitute that we have the same rule of law, Nor does it with the European Union, Nor France the most Socialy Correct country in the Union.
That argument no matter what the subject seems to be the norm amongst those that are of the opinion Socialy Correct, They have it? So what, who care i live in Canada Not Europe.
I wonder if Robert Latimer gets any rural conservative welfare bum subsidies?
I agree with as usual all but T and Phil.
Simple probability should put these to one the rightious side of things at least some times.
I have misgivings about this. It smacks of a means test—the meanest test of all.
Johann
[….It should be simple: as long as you’re in jail, you
a) get no pension or OAS or anything like that
b) don’t get to vote]
I would expand this to include:
(c)the incarcerated defaults his estate to the Crown.
Let’s take away his vote too!
Ohhh no wait the leaders of the country (Supreme Court)said you can’t do that….
Let’s put T and phil in the same cell as Olsen,in a day or two Olsen will be begging us to execute him.
Wow Wes. Here’s another biter. Clifford Olson likely has more throwing around money that the average Canadian family.
Leave their pensions alone, but income security payments should be abated, or at least recovered, while a person is incarcerated.
I agree with as usual all but T and Phil.
Since “conservatives” are battin’ a thousand in
applying the double standard, I wouldn’t want you
breaking that streak. The CTF and the small dead angry right fringe….Hypocrites of a feather…
Case law based on the most extreme and repugnant example they could find. Laws based on emotion. I hate to say it, but I think that T is on the right track with this one.
family members have stated that He can now pay the amount he reneged on in the Civil Suits 20yrs ago.
“I would expand this to include:
(c)the incarcerated defaults his estate to the Crown.”
sasquatch,expand on this ,please! I’m sure you don’t mean that someone like Conrad Black should have to forfeit everything he’s earned in his life!
I trust you meant only serious felons like Olson and Shearing.
Phil please explain the batting 1000 & the double standard? Please explain how there is a double standard?
Btw i dont normaly feed the trolls, However in this case i want to hear your argument that a Convicted Murderous individual of 11 innocents has just as many rights as a honest hardworking taxpaying senior some of which Do not even make as much as Olson.
So if I run out of money in my dotage, I just hold up a bank and live comfortably, problem solved. If I get caught, also problem solved, No need for seniors’ homes and public trustees. I think I just changed my retirement plans.
bryan:
It would be challenging for phil to move from troglodyte name-calling to a level where he would actually be able to debate … wait for it … ideas.
If the entitlement to OAS is to be based on meritorious behavior in one’s lifetime, then perhaps time spent in prison by younger offenders should be added to their age 65 threshold for the benefit.
“””then perhaps time spent in prison by younger offenders should be added to their age 65 threshold for the benefit.””””
I think it would be cheaper not to do this, as, they would have to hire another 1000 useless gov’t employee’s to administer this
And in other news that the MSM tries to bury well off of the front page;
With two months left to report for the 2009-10 fiscal year, the federal government has a budget deficit of $39.6 billion, whereas Finance forecast a $53.8-billion shortfall for the entire fiscal year. Should the momentum continue, it is possible the federal deficit for this fiscal year could be quite a bit smaller than projected.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Federal+government+track+smaller+deficit/2733924/story.html
While I might agree with this, it seems like such a small issue for the CTF to campaign on. It’s many times more important combat supply management and government subsidies. I think those will elicit significant support from Canadians too. I hope these little successes the CTF has been getting lately are a sort of practice for the bigger stuff.
I made a joke before I retired and said if it wasn’t enough I could go to jail until it built up. The Admin resource said they keep it. I replied they would lose in court so she checked. I can go to jail and let my bank account build. Mind you I earned it.
No income gets the maximum and most people have some income so Clifford does well. GST rebates kind of tick me off too.
To clarify for some, OAS and GIS are not “pensions” per se. They are income supplement programs that are based on income and on residency (ie. you have to have lived in Canada for 10 years, etc.)
The petition asks to end OAS and GIS not pensions for convicted prisoners. Once they are out, they could start collecting them, if they are eligible.
I don’t think Robert Latimer is even in jail, he can get a bloody job, or sell his farm. The only thing he and his brow-beaten wife are without is their baby bonuses!
The full cost of incarceration for a prisoner should be classed as a “taxable benefit” and any government payments will be clawed back. The inmate has no expenses while locked-up so these payments are misdirected and unneeded….just like the concept of universality.
“Low Tax Liberalism” Now THAT is an oxymoron everyone can grasp, just before they gag!
If we had proper laws and a dirty rope we would`nt be having this conversation!
As a proud mother of 2 girls, a granny of 1 with another on the way, let me just say that I would personally rip to shreds piece by piece anyone that touched by babies. Damn the law. My blood is boiling thinking about Olsen. I wish him nothing but hell and damnation.
When this story broke the heads of the prison system and OAP were asked if they thought this was right. Both said that one prisoner getting a Canada Pension and Supplement was “inconsequential.” Ya but there are 535+/- prisoners who are 65 or over getting this money. That is almost EIGHT MILLION DOLLARS over and above the $130K EACH it costs to house lifers.
Harper said he didn’t think it was right and will be reviewing it. Write his office (“Hon S. HARPER” ) and tell him the $8,000,000. could likely be spent on more important things.
A bullet to the brain. painless and cheap.
As I suspected. Seems most want to keep the program, but with added rules to lock out Olsen. I can tell you right now, you are heading for more problems than you think you are solving.