Presented by Ken Georgetti on Thursday, 28 October 2010

(Check against delivery)

Sisters and Brothers, it’s my pleasure to bring you greetings of solidarity from the Officers and 3.2 million workers who are members of the Canadian Labour Congress.

Thanks to your president Debbie Forward for inviting me here today.

It’s always good to be back in St. John's and out of Ottawa at this time of year when the warmest thing in the nation’s capital...is Stephen Harper’s smile.

I enjoy meeting with nurses’ union members because you are the front line of our public health care system.

Despite all the challenges your members face from underfunding and stretched resources, nurses are doing an incredible job that the rest of us are so thankful for.

I’m only going to speak for a few minutes today so I want to focus on the CLC’s most ambitious and important campaign in decades – to dramatically improve retirement security for every worker in Canada.

And I want to thank the Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses' Union for its strong support of our campaign.

Because, as your convention theme says "together we achieve".

I encourage each of you to work with your union and the CLC to help us achieve our goal – to win significant pension and retirement security reforms for all Canadian workers – union and non-union.

It’s so important because unfortunately the prospect of retirement actually scares most Canadians.

They see ahead of them not their golden years...but poverty fears.

And even more sadly, they are right to be worried.

Today more than 1.6 million Canadian seniors are living in poverty, with income below $16,000 a year.

What a shameful situation for the people who built this great country!

So what is the answer?

Well it’s definitely not RRSPs!

Billions of dollars were lost in the financial meltdown caused by corporate greed and the failure of governments to regulate banks, financial institutions and corporations.

Do Canadians really want to gamble with their retirement security that way?

No they don't.

Only 1 in 4 Canadians bought RRSPs in 2008.

Here in Newfoundland it was still lower, with only 16% of taxpayers purchasing RRSPs in 2008.

But in this province between now and 2036, the number of people aged 65 and older will double.

Between now and 2036, the number of seniors for every 100 people of working age in Newfoundland will jump from 22 to 58.

Clearly a lot of people here should be worried about retirement security.

And yet one-third of Canadian workers between the ages of 24 and 64 have absolutely no personal retirement savings. None.

Even those with RRSPs don't have enough.

The median RRSP value for a worker between 55 and 65 years old in 2005 was just $60,000 - and that was before the stock market roller coaster ride.

That was enough to buy a monthly pension of just $250.

Meanwhile, the 38.5% of the workers who actually have pensions – like people in this room – are under attack.

Employers are scrapping defined benefits pension plans and replacing them with defined contribution plans or RRSPs – which both have the same high risks as the markets.

It’s a grim picture.

Fortunately, the CLC has a better plan – we want to double Canada Pension Plan benefits for all workers.

If we phase in a small premium increase over 7 years, it would result in a doubling of maximum future benefits – to $1635 a month.

That would raise the basic pension floor for all workers from a poverty level of $12,000 a year to a far more liveable $20,000.

The reasons why improving the Canada Pension Plan is the best solution are clear – the CPP is universal, it’s portable – it goes with you, not your job – and it covers 93% of workers.

Given the fact that in this new and precarious economy many workers will likely have several different employers in multiple locations during their career, the CLC proposal is the way to go.

Those from Newfoundland and Labrador know all too well that so many here have at times had to leave home to find work in other provinces.

It’s astonishing that 17% of the population of Fort McMurray in Alberta comes from Newfoundland.

That kind of worker mobility is one of the reasons we developed our plan – to meet their needs.

But the CLC proposal does much more than that.

It not only helps workers who don’t have a pension plan or RRSPs but it also provides a better retirement base for those of us who do have pensions.

The CLC plan is achievable – we have had it costed-out by Bernard Dussault – the former chief actuary for the Canada Pension Plan.

And – I am very pleased to say – Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and a majority of provincial ministers have said they support expanding the Canada Pension Plan.

They have not yet signed on to the CLC plan to double CPP benefits, but it is a welcome start.

That’s why I am asking for your help – I need your help to reinforce the message I gave to Premier Danny Williams yesterday when I met with him.

A minor increase in CPP benefits is simply not enough to provide the security and protection all Canadian workers need in their retirement.

I need you to tell Premier Williams and Finance Minister Tom Marshall that the time is now.

Expanding the CPP to ensure a better basic public pension for every worker is a legacy today's politicians will be remembered for by our children.

And it will be a legacy driven by the labour movement.

But there is much more to be done as well.

We need an immediate 15% increase to Guaranteed Income Supplement benefits in order to lift those 1.6 million seniors out of the poverty they are now trapped in.

We also need federal pension insurance – to protect our workplace plans.

We insure our lives, our homes, our vehicles and our jobs – but not our pensions!

So Sisters and Brothers - this is our time – our moment to make the most sweeping positive change seen in Canada since Tommy Douglas introduced Medicare in Saskatchewan and transformed the nation.

It’s time to protect every worker in Canada so they can retire with dignity and security.

And I know that with your strong support – we can do it – we can win!

Thank you for inviting me and have a great day!