OTTAWA — The Liberal party’s seniors and pensions critic says she will not support a contentious bill introduced by one of her fellow caucus colleagues that would improve access to Old Age Security pension benefits for seniors.

The legislation, tabled by Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla, was designed to allow elderly immigrants to qualify for the pension benefits after being in the country for three years, instead of the current requirement of 10. But Judy Sgro, the seniors and pensions critic, said the Liberal party wants to come up with a more comprehensive approach to addressing pension issues.

“The leader (Michael Ignatieff) and the Liberal caucus feel the solutions to the challenges facing our national pension and retirement systems must be addressed holistically and with a comprehensive national vision,” Sgro said in a statement released late on Monday afternoon. “Expenditure of public dollars must never be made without careful consideration of the long-term ramifications on the public treasury.”

Sgro said the Liberal party believed that increasing Old Age Security benefits “was not the most appropriate method” to improve government support for new Canadians. She estimated that, if adopted, the plan would cost the government between $300 million to $700 million.

The Harper government blasted Dhalla’s legislation last week after it was introduced, saying that ministers and MPs were being flooded with phone calls complaining about the proposal. But at the time, Dhalla said that it was not a Liberal bill and should be viewed only as a private member’s bill.

A spokesperson for Ignatieff said that Sgro issued her release to make it clear that the legislation was not party policy, but that MPs are not forced to vote in any particular way on a private member’s bill.

Reached on Monday evening, Dhalla said her main priority as an MP was to ensure that the voice of her constituents in the Toronto-area riding of Brampton-Springdale would be heard.

"Politics for me is about sharing, and exchanging ideas and developing solutions to needs and challenges faced by the community," she said. "I hope that by bringing this bill forward it brings to light the need for immediate action and solutions for the issue of poverty, seniors, pensions and the challenges faced by new immigrants."

mdesouza@canwest.com