The federal government has created a National Seniors Council and plans to spend $14 million on hundreds of projects related to seniors across the country.

Marjory LeBreton, secretary of state responsible for seniors, said at a news conference Monday in St. Catharines, Ont., that the council will advise the Conservative government on issues of national importance that affect seniors.

"Seniors helped build this country, and have made it what it is today," LeBreton said. The new council "is enabling seniors to have a say in the issues that matter the most to them, things like health care, income stability and personal security."

LeBreton said the aim is to ensure Ottawa's policies and programs meet the needs of Canada's elderly.

The creation of the 12-member council, which will include seniors, representatives from senior groups, and experts, will advise the minister of human resources and social development and the minister of health.

Judy Cutler, director of government relations at CARP (Canada's Association for the 50 Plus), said her association has been pushing for such a thing for many years.

"We're very happy that it's finally happening," she said.

Cutler hopes her group will get a seat on the new council and that it will look at issues that concern her group, such as health care and Canada's pension program.

"It's not providing enough," she said of the pension plan. "The increases don't really meet true inflation."

Change income supplement clawback: CARP

CARP wants changes to the clawback on the Guaranteed Income Supplement, Cutler said.

Under current rules, Cutler said, if a senior receives any other income on top of the GIS, he or she loses 50 cents on each dollar from the supplement, which is aimed at very low-income seniors.

CARP doesn't want that rule to kick in for the first $5,000 of extra income a GIS recipient gets. That would encourage seniors to find part-time work, Cutler said.

Larry Wagg, president of the Congress of Union Retirees of Canada, said his organization is now trying to find out what the next step in the process is.

"We think it's an important body to be represented on," he told CBC.ca. "We have to find out what actually its role is, and there obviously must be something in writing about that…

"We're willing to give it a try."

The congress represents more than half a million people across Canada.

Chair appointed for new council

The government has appointed Jean-Guy Soulière as the council's chair. He is also chair of the Congress of National Seniors' Organizations, which represents 140,000 pensioners from the federal public service.

The council will also commission research, convene expert panels and round tables and hold consultative meetings. It will also provide advice after taking the views of experts into account.

During the announcement, the government also said it will spend $14 million on 775 projects for seniors under the New Horizons for Seniors Program, which was launched in 2004.

The creation of a seniors council fulfills a promise Prime Minister Stephen Harper made during the last federal election campaign.

He spoke of forming such a group in December 2005, on the same day he promised more tax relief for older Canadians.