Posted: Monday, 14 June 2010

WHEREAS The Canadian economic downturn is putting the retirement security of many workers at risk; and

WHEREAS Canadian cities are directly impacted as they are key front line providers of social services and support programs for older workers and retirees; and
WHEREAS Ontario cities bear an additional portion of the cost of providing such programs; and

WHEREAS The significant economic downturn in combination with an increased number of employer bankruptcies across various sectors have resulted in under-funded pension plans and the actual and potential loss of promised pension benefits; and

WHEREAS Only one in four private sector workers belong to an employer pension plan and the remaining 3 out of 4 workers must rely more heavily on personal savings to provide for their retirement; and

WHEREAS The Canadian public pension system including Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) plus the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is safe but falls well short of replacing the 50% to 70% of pre-retirement income needed to maintain a decent standard of living; therefore, be it

RESOLVED That the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) support expansion of Canada’s public pension system by and at the cost of the Federal Government and not municipalities:

1. by increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) by 15%, so no senior lives in poverty; and
2. by protecting Canadian pensions through a federal system of pension insurance; and be it further

RESOLVED That FCM support the call on the federal government to hold a national summit on the issue of pensions and support the expansion of the Canada Pension Plan.

City of Toronto, Ontario
FCM’s Big City Mayors Caucus