CANADIAN LABOUR/CANADIAN POLITICS:

PENSION ACTION NOW:

Canada's finance ministers will be meeting on June 13 to discuss "reform" of the pension system. This meeting will be held against a backdrop of worldwide attacks on the pension system as part of deficit reduction and against a further backdrop of numerous failures of private pension plans. One worries that this is the sort of "reform" that Canadian governments, especially the federal Conservatives, might have in mind. The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers' Union (CEP Union) has a different idea of what should be on the agenda. Here's their appeal for a mass letter to the ministers.

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PENSION REFORM NOW

The federal and provincial governments just finished another round of consultations on pensions. Finance ministers will meet mid-June to decide how to reform the Canadian pension system.

It needs to be fixed and CEP has some solid proposals on how to do just that! Retirees have seen their pension benefits reduced drastically as bankrupt companies restructure. Workers have to postpone retiring because their pension savings have shrunk too much with the crash of the stock market.

Send this message to Canada’s Finance Ministers. It’s time for action now!

8 June 2010


You can edit this letter. Your personal comments, especially in the first few paragraphs, will give the message much greater impact.

To: Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty
AB Minister of Finance and Enterprise Ted Morton
BC Minister of Finance Colin Hansen
PEI Provincial Treasurer Wesley J. Sheridan
MB Minister of Finance Rosann Wowchuk
NB Minister of Finance Greg Byrne
NS Minister of Finance Graham Steele
NU Minister of Finance Keith Peterson
Ontario Minister of Finance Dwight Duncan
Quebec Minister of Finance Raymond Bachand
SK Minister of Finance Rod Gantefoer
NL Minister of Finance Thomas W. Marshall
NT Minister of Finance Michael Miltenberger
YK Minister of Finance Dennis Fentie

Cc: CEP.ca
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The Letter:
Please go to this link to add your name to the following letter to the assembled finance ministers.
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To Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Ministers:

At your next Finance ministers’ meeting, you will make important decisions to reform the Canadian pension system.

To ensure retirement security for everyone, it is urgent that you :

* Double Canada Pension Plan and the Régime des rentes du Québec benefits;
* Raise the Guaranteed Income Supplement by 15%, and
* Create a National Investment and Pension Fund, as proposed by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, to protect orphaned pension plans when a company is facing bankruptcy.

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Au Premier ministre Stephen Harper et aux ministres des Finances:

Lors de votre prochaine réunion des ministres des Finances, vous allez prendre des décisions importantes pour réformer le système de retraite au Canada.

Pour assurer une sécurité à la retraite pour tous et toutes, il est urgent :

* de doubler les prestations du Régime de pensions du Canada et du Régime des rentes du Québec;
* d’augmenter de 15% le Supplément de revenu garanti et
* de créer un Fonds national d’investissement et de rentes, proposé par le Syndicat canadien des communications, de l’énergie et du papier, pour protéger les régimes de retraite orphelins, suite à la restructuration ou à la faillite d’une compagnie.