A CHANCE TO MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT
Please read this now - CARP's urgent call to action on pension reform
A critical vote on pension reform takes place in the House of Commons on Tuesday, June 16. It's urgent that you contact your MP before that vote. Read this article for an overview of the issue. Then read the other articles for important background information that will help you compose your email. Support CARP's leadership on pension reform. Make your voice heard!
Unlike many Opposition Motions that go nowhere, this one may well have all-party support and your input could make the difference.
The Motion is to
-- increase OAS, GIS and CPP
-- move pensioners closer to the front in case their employers go bankrupt
-- provide a national insurance fund against pension fund failure
-- takes aim at executive compensation.
The full text of the Motion is in the right hand column.
While this motion only applies to the CPP and those who already have pensions, the thorough debate on Thursday covered many of the issues that CARP has advocated on your behalf including
-- the two year moratorium on mandated RRIF withdrawals
-- very importantly, a new retirement savings vehicle, or enhancing the CPP to provide people with the chance to better save for their own retirement.
Although the Motion itself does not specify all of the pension reform issues we have raised, it has engaged the MPs in a debate on retirement security and an affirmative vote on this Motion will help keep pension reform at the front of the parliamentary agenda. The lengthy, and mostly conscientious, debate focussed entirely on older Canadians and the need to better provide for their retirement security.
CARP sent an open letter to all MPs, calling for their support of the Motion and took the opportunity to add our call for the Universal Pension Plan and a Pension Summit at which representatives of retirees will have a material role.
A news release was also issued on Friday.
This is a very opportune time to make your views known to your MP and to the Minister of Finance. You can send your own email or better still, use CARP’s E-voice function (which has a handy drop down list of all the MPs) and tell your MP how you believe he/she should vote on this Motion.
You should copy your email to the Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, his Parliamentary Secretary, Ted Menzies and the leaders of the four political parties. You can copy any part of our Open Letter, write your own message, or simply say: “Please support the Motion to increase OAS, GIS and CPP and better protect our retirement security.”
In reality, the fact of getting your email and having it come it with the “CARP e-voice” banner is as effective as anything you actually say so you do not have to agonize over what you write, just state your opinion. The vote is scheduled for around 5 pm on Tuesday June 16th. Please make sure to get your emails out well before then. This is short notice but it is a great opportunity to give the MPs something to think about as they leave for their summer break!
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OPEN LETTER TO ALL MPs
Here is the text of the Open Letter CARP sent to all MPs. Please feel free to use all or part of it when you compose your own e-mail to your MP.
June 12, 2009
Thank you for the focussed and thoughtful debate in the House of Commons on Thursday June 11th, 2009 on the immediate action needed to address the retirement concerns of all Canadians but especially today’s retirees. The vote on the motion is scheduled for Tuesday June 16th, 2009.
CARP members, in particular, will be encouraged by your willingness to find a solution for their plight.
Retirees ravaged by this economic downturn cannot wait for more studies. Government can act immediately to give them help now by increasing OAS, GIS and CPP and better protecting the interests of those with pension plans. It is also time to act for those without pensions.
All Canadians will benefit if the federal and provincial governments immediately start constructing a Universal Pension Plan - a universally accessible and affordable retirement savings vehicle that is robust enough to withstand demographic and economic challenges like those we are now witnessing. The first step is to convene a Pension Summit at which representatives of retirees have a material role.
CARP is therefore calling on you to support yesterday’s opposition motion on pensions to increase OAS, GIS and CPP benefits and better protect the interests of those with pensions. In addition, we encourage you call on the government to convene a Pension Summit to address the urgent need to provide a better pension system for all Canadians.
Sincerely,
Susan Eng
Vice President, Advocacy
CARP, A New Vision of Aging for Canada
advocacy@carp.ca
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Submit your Nominations for CARP's 25th Anniversary “Top 25 Canadians Award”
Submit your Nominations for CARP's 25th Anniversary "Top 25 Canadians Award"
"I can think of a dozen people who could be nominated" says General Richard Rohmer. Gail Hinchliffe says she too can think of several people deserving of the honour. And Dr. Colin Powell, who practices Geriatric Medicine at Rockyview General Hospital in Calgary, says he meets people on a weekly basis who are worthy of the nomination. Read more.
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Opposition Motion on OAS, GIS CPP and Pension Reform
Here is the actual text of the Opposition Motion. Please refer to it when composing your email to your MP.
June 9, 2009 — Mr. Marston (Hamilton East—Stoney Creek) — That, in the opinion of the House, in light of the legitimate concerns of Canadians that pensions and their retirement security may not be there for them in their retirement years, the Government of Canada should begin to work with the provinces and territories to ensure the sustainability of Canadians’ retirement incomes by bringing forward at the earliest opportunity, measures such as:
(a) expanding and increasing the CPP/QPP, OAS and GIS to ensure all Canadians can count on a dignified retirement;
(b) establishing a self-financing pension insurance program to ensure the viability of workplace sponsored plans in tough economic times;
(c) ensuring that workers’ pension funds go to the front of the line of creditors in the event of bankruptcy proceedings;
(d) in the interest of appropriate management of the CPP that the Government of Canada immediately protect the CPP from imprudent investment practices by ceasing the practice of awarding managers performance-based bonuses; and
(e) take all necessary steps to recover those bonuses for 2009, ensuring managers in the future are paid appropriate industry-competitive salaries.
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CARP calls on MPs to support increase to OAS, GIS, CPP, universal pension plan and a Pension Summit – vote on Tuesday June 16
Here's the news release CARP sent out on June 12. You can use the information to help you compose your email to your MP.
Toronto, Ontario, June 12, 2009 -- CARP released an open letter calling on MPs to support an Opposition motion for immediate government action to increase OAS, GIS, CPP and to support CARP’s demands for a universal pension plan and a Pension Summit as soon as possible.
The Opposition motion introduced in the House of Commons yesterday is expected to be voted on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 and calls on the government to act promptly to address concerns about retirement security. [Please see link to parliamentary debates below] This will set a priority in the parliamentary agenda on increasing Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplements and Canada Pension Plan benefits and giving precedence to pension benefits in the event of a bankruptcy.
These proposals will help address the immediate concerns of retirees. “Retirees ravaged by this economic downturn cannot wait for more studies. Government can act immediately to give them help now by increasing OAS, GIS and CPP and better protecting the interests of those with pension plans. It is also time to act for those without pensions”, said Susan Eng Vice President, Advocacy of CARP. “CARP members will be pleased to know that MPs of all parties took their concerns seriously, including the many issues [in addition to increasing OAS, GIS and CPP] that CARP has pursued like the two-year moratorium on RRIF withdrawals and a new or enhanced access to a retirement savings vehicle like the CPP. "
"We will be encouraging our members to make their views known to their MPs in advance of Tuesday’s vote on the motion,” added Eng. There has been growing recognition that Canadians are not saving enough for their own retirement and that even those with workplace pensions are at risk in the current economic climate. CARP has called for a Universal Pension Plan modeled on the CPP for the estimated one in three Canadians who retire without any retirement savings.
Although the Opposition Motion does not explicitly call for a new retirement savings vehicle, the call for an increase in CPP benefits is a step in the direction of improving access to retirement savings options. Three provincial pension review panels [BC-Alberta, Nova Scotia and Ontario] identified the need to provide broader access to larger well-managed pension funds for working Canadians who do not have access to workplace sponsored plans.
Despite several provincial Finance Ministers calling for a Pension Summit at their May 25, 2009 meeting, the issue of pension reform was relegated to a research working group which is due to report at the end of the year. If the MPs endorse the call on the federal government to work with the provinces, this would add pressure to keeping the responsibility to address the retirement insecurity facing Canadians with the elected ministers and not with yet another expert panel.
“All Canadians will benefit if the federal and provincial governments immediately start constructing a Universal Pension plan - a universally accessible and affordable retirement savings vehicle that is robust enough to withstand demographic and economic challenges like those we are now witnessing. The first step is to convene a Pension Summit at which representatives of retirees have a material role," said Eng.
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Debate in House of Commons
Read the full text of last week's debate on pension reform
The lengthy, and mostly conscientious, debate focussed entirely on older Canadians and the need to better provide for their retirement security. Here is the full text.
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Previous Issues of CARP Action Online
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