A sizeable swarm of seniors gathered near the Schubert Centre on Thursday, March 21 to protest low pensions in Vernon and across the country.
Chants of 含羞草研究社渙ne, two, three, four, I am sick and tired of being poor,含羞草研究社� echoed through the streets as the nearly 100 individuals marched downtown to express themselves.
Seniors all across Vernon gathered in the downtown core to march for higher pensions on Thursday
含羞草研究社� Vernon Morning Star (@VernonNews)
含羞草研究社淚 am just fed up with hearing about poverty in the city,含羞草研究社� said Carole Fawcett, organizer of the march. 含羞草研究社淥ne woman lived in her car for 14 months, she was 73-years-old. Another one was rent evicted. It was just tiring hearing about all of this.含羞草研究社�
Fawcett was 含羞草研究社渁mazed含羞草研究社� with the amount of individuals who turned out in support, as the march was part of a provincewide Seniors Tin Cup movement. Fawcett previously organized a smaller gathering, in December of 2023.
含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檓 so touched to see,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淣ow I just hope the government will do the right thing and raise pensions.含羞草研究社�
According to , 28 per cent of Canada含羞草研究社檚 senior women are living in poverty. If a senior is relying on the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP), Guaranteed Income Supplement and Old Age Security (OAS), the average amount provided from all three is from $18-20,000, which is lower than the Canadian poverty threshold of $25,552.
含羞草研究社淢y wife gets a pension and I get OAS and CPP, and we will get money for our house,含羞草研究社� said Mel Piper, one such individual at the protest. 含羞草研究社淏ut once the money from the house is gone, I am afraid we would be SOL as it wouldn含羞草研究社檛 be enough to support us.含羞草研究社�
The Tin Cup movement was started by Sharon Elliot of Vancouver, who witnessed a woman taking bottles and cans out of a garbage can in a nearby park. The woman, who was clean and neatly dressed, told Elliot that she was doing this as she didn含羞草研究社檛 have enough money to live. Elliot realized that soon seniors would be standing on corners, holding tin cups in order to survive each month.
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