Posted: Friday, 11 June 2010

OTTAWA – The campaign waged by the labour movement and citizens’ groups for improvements to the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans is paying off, says Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress.

“We have been telling political leaders repeatedly that an improved CPP is far and away the best way to guarantee retirement security for Canadians,” Georgetti says. “We are pleased that some finance ministers have come to agree with us but we intend to keep their feet to the fire.”

Georgetti was responding to comments made by Jim Flaherty, the federal finance minister, and Ontario’s minister Dwight Duncan. Both now say that they support CPP enhancements and have conveyed those sentiments to their fellow ministers. “We are pleased that ministers Flaherty and Duncan appear to be on side but we will wait to see the fine print here. We want a phased-in doubling of CPP benefits and that is the option that we will continue to push.”

Federal, provincial and territorial finance ministers have been talking about pensions for a year now and will meet in Prince Edward Island on June 13 and 14 to consider what to do next. “We are telling the finance ministers that an enhanced CPP is the only way to go,” Georgetti says. “That must be the cornerstone of pension reform.”

The CLC’s plan received a boost recently when the Federation of Canadian Municipalities called in its convention for an expansion of public pensions, a position similar to that of the CLC. “The local politicians get it and we are confident that other leaders will get it too,” Georgetti says. “There is no excuse for Canada’s finance ministers to drag their feet on pension reform.”

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.2 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada's national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils. Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca

Contacts:
Dennis Gruending, CLC Communications, Tel: 613-526-7431 or Mobile: 613-878-6040
Email: dgruending@clc-ctc.ca