Seniors in Vernon are making it known that improved pensions are a necessity, not a luxury.
More than 50 seniors came out to the busy intersection at the corner of 25th Avenue and Highway 97 Thursday, June 27, to form a protest organized by Seniors Tin Cup, a group that advocates for Canada pensions that are fair and keep seniors above the poverty line.
Vernon's Carole Fawcett helped organize the protest, which followed a previous protest in March that saw roughly 100 people march from the Schubert Centre down main street.
"A lot of seniors that have come out here today are low income seniors and they live below the poverty line of $25,000," Fawcett told The Morning Star on the side of the highway, where protesters waved to oncoming traffic with signs evincing the struggles seniors experience.
Fawcett said seniors are feeling ignored by the government.
"We feel unheard and invisible," she said.
Fawcett, who is behind the Tin Cup movement alongside Vancouver's Sharon Elliot, said old age security is $708 a month, and people over the age of 75 are entitled to $778 per month.
"And then you have CPP (Canada Pension Plan), so a lot of people live on $1,900 a month and under," she said. "We want to get the seniors' pension raised."
Fawcett has heard the struggles of a number of local seniors. One woman she spoke to lived in her car for 14 months at age 73. Another senior, a 75-year-old man, had to live out of his truck while getting cancer treatment. One senior was made to skip lunch every day in order to save on food costs.
"It's just wrong," Fawcett said. "Seniors need respect and dignity and that's what we're after. It's pretty hard to feel valued when you have to scramble for money every month."
Vernon senior Margo Jarman was at the protest. She said she works three days a week to supplement her pension so that she can do a little bit of travelling in B.C. in her retirement. She said she's lucky to be paying just over $1,000 for rent, or else she and her husband would be struggling to make ends meet.
Even with the low rent, she said she they are "watching every nickel and dime" on a daily basis.
If the CPP was increased, Jarman said she'd be able to build some savings for a rainy day, something she's currently unable to do.
Protester Nola Neilson said she's one of the fortunate ones, as her husband has a good pension. She nonetheless came out to support the cause with less fortunate seniors in mind.
"If I didn't have other means, I would definitely be on the street or living in my car, so I'm here to support those that need it more," Neilson said. "We have all paid into this (CPP) for our entire working lives, and I think there should be more money available to those that have paid into it."
Beyond calling for increased pensions, Fawcett said she hopes some form of universal basic income will be introduced to help everyone get by, including seniors.
Thursday saw similar rallies in Kelowna, Penticton, Kamloops, White Rock/South Surrey, Ladysmith, Cranbrook, Williams Lake and Prince George.
Fawcett said the plan is to stage a protest every three months with the hope that repeated demonstrations will put pressure on the federal government to take action in support of seniors.
