GN raises seniors’ monthly benefit

Nunavut’s seniors, like these Cambridge Bay elders, will see an increase to their monthly benefit from the territory. (FILE PHOTO)

Good news for Nunavut’s seniors — the territory’s monthly benefit has been increased, the Govenrment of Nunavut announced April 8.

The Senior Citizen Supplementary Benefit is a monthly benefit paid out to low-income seniors who already qualify for the federal Guaranteed Income Supplement.

The benefit, which has sat at $175 a month since 2008, has been bumped to $200 as of April 1, said a GN release.

The change is part of an “ongoing commitment to review and reform income assistance in Nunavut,” the GN said April 8.

Iqaluit-Tasiluk MLA George Hickes raised the issue in fall session of the territorial legislature, calling on the government to adjust its benefit to the rising cost of living in Nunavut.

“Seniors are one of our most vulnerable residents, other than children,” Hickes said last November. “And we’ve got to make sure that they’re given the resources to be able to take care of themselves properly.”

In October 2014, the GN said that 477 seniors received the Senior Citizens Supplementary Benefit.

For more information on the benefit, seniors can contact their regional department of Family Services office; in the Qikiqtani at 1-800-567-1514; in the Kivalliq at 1-800-953-8516 and in the Kitikmeot at 1-800-661-0845.