Forty years ago, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney touched a hot stove. He announced that his government would partially de-index Old Age Security benefits from inflation, and very quickly, the smell of burning flesh began wafting through Ottawa. NDP MP Simon de Jong charged that Mr. Mulroney was breaking a “sacred trust” with Canadian seniors. “Two and a half million elderly Canadians are fed up,” barked Liberal leader John Turner. And outside of Parliament, a Quebec woman named Solange Denis pointed at Mr. Mulroney and said: “You lied to us. You made promises that you wouldn’t touch (OAS). It’s goodbye, Charlie Brown!” The Prime Minister backed down (though he did manage to implement a modest clawback for high-income seniors in 1989).
