OTTAWA – The Conservative government has betrayed Canadians by abandoning any plans to expand the CPP and changing course after two years of talks aimed at helping Canadians save for retirement, Liberals charged today as Finance Minister Jim Flaherty prepares to meet in Kananaskis with his provincial and territorial counterparts.
“The Conservatives just don’t get it,” said Liberal Deputy Leader Ralph Goodale. “Instead of bringing something concrete to the table today, Mr. Flaherty sent a hasty letter of betrayal to the provinces late last week to sabotage any strengthening of the Canada Pension Plan and recycle instead an empty ideological scheme salvaged from Stephen Harper’s days as President of the National Citizens Coalition. It’s designed for business interests, not families.”
In a letter to provincial Finance Ministers last Thursday, Mr. Flaherty announced his government’s scheme to create so-called Pooled Registered Pension Plans, a notion which moves away from building on the success of the Canada Pension Plan.
“No one believes that this government is serious about pension reform, and how could they be after spending two years in aimless consultations they’ve ultimately ignored,” Liberal Seniors and Pensions Critic Judy Sgro said. “Mr. Flaherty’s eleventh-hour scheme is woefully inadequate to address the scale of the retirement savings challenge we’re facing, with three-quarters of private sector workers without any registered pension savings,” she said.
“What is needed is a simple, affordable and user-friendly plan built on the success of the trusted public Canada Pension Plan.”
Liberals are fighting for Canadian families and seniors by advocating pension reform and stronger support for family caregivers.
A future Liberal government will establish a voluntary Supplementary Canada Pension Plan to help more Canadians use our trusted national pension plan to save for their retirement, and will give long-term disability plans better protection by changing the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.
“Whether it be deficit projections or this broken promise to expand the CPP, this Finance Minister has displayed a pattern of inconsistency where what he finally announces is starkly different from what he said in the beginning,” said Liberal Finance Critic Scott Brison. “That’s not the sound fiscal management that Canadians deserve – that’s making it up as you go along.”
“The Conservatives have ignored all decent pension reforms ideas and they continue to attack the most vulnerable in the process – they secretly implemented a new policy that will cut off Guaranteed Income Supplement payments to thousands of low-income seniors, and killed Liberal Bill S-216, leaving hundreds of Nortel long-term-disability recipients without benefits come December 31st,” said Ms. Sgro.
Recent statistics show the number of seniors living below the poverty line has jumped from 204,000 to 250,000 – a 25% increase. At the same time, six in 10 Canadians don’t have a registered pension plan.
“Enough is enough – Canadians know what’s needed and they want to see real action,” concluded Mr. Goodale.
