Mr. Chase: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In her opening speech to this House on October 24 the Premier promised: “Couples that have loved and depended on each other for decades will no longer be split up.” Yet reports have emerged of at least three senior couples in Medicine Hat driven to divorce in order to qualify for the Alberta seniors’ benefits they need to pay for long-term care.

To the Minister of Seniors: is this just another in a string of broken promises?

The Speaker: The hon. minister.

Mr. VanderBurg: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me get this straight. Involuntary separation is not divorce. Whoever thinks of that as divorce and whoever thinks that this department would make anybody legally separate is foolish.

Mr. Chase: I suppose, Mr. Speaker, that involuntary separation is acceptable.

Given that the removal of the daily accommodation fee cap will only increase costs further, what does the minister have to say to lower income seniors driven to take such desperate measures in order to pay for long-term care: don’t worry, it’s involuntary?

Mr. VanderBurg: Mr. Speaker, just to put some further clarification into this, if a senior couple is in the unfortunate circumstance where one partner has to go into long-term care and the other partner stays at home, just pick up the phone, call our department, and we’ll make sure you have an income-splitting opportunity to maximize your benefits. No form required.

The Speaker: The hon. member.

Mr. Chase: Thank you. Will the minister commit today to equalizing the eligibility criteria for married and unmarried recipients of the Alberta seniors’ benefit?

Mr. VanderBurg: Again, I’ll say it slower. All you have to do is pick up the phone, let me know, let our department know. We’ll make sure that you can split your income halfway down the middle, that you both get maximum benefit on the seniors’ benefit plan. It has been working fine. Our department has been doing this for years. People don’t have trouble with it. Involuntary separation is a federal incentive to maximize the guaranteed income supplement and the old age security. We don’t require a form. We don’t require anything. Just notify us.

Alberta Hansard, November 28, 2011

[direct link to this article]