For families everywhere, the Canada Pension Plan is an integral part of retirement planning.  Millions of Canadians contribute a little of each paycheque so they can retire with comfort, dignity and security.

All across the country, Canadians are watching and worrying as their nest eggs shrink. Savings are disappearing, workplace pensions are being cancelled and the Canada Pension Plan just isn’t enough. 

Just before the holidays, Harper’s Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced that the government would not be improving Canada’s main retirement tool – despite earlier hints that they would.  In December, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced that the government would ignore the CPP, choosing instead to introduce a private-sector plan administered by financial institutions.

That is a recipe for disaster. Right here in Ottawa, we saw the government’s refusal to stand up for former Nortel employees whose pensions were mismanaged and underfunded by the company. 

Whether you’re sixty-four or forty-six, you need to know that you’ll be able to retire in dignity.  It’s getting harder to have such assurances – because the recent recession has exposed real flaws in Canada’s retirement savings system. 

My NDP colleagues and I understand what worried Canadians are going through.  That’s why we have a comprehensive retirement security plan that would:

• Double CPP payments.  Public pensions are the most affordable and practical way to ensure everyone retires with comfort.
• Protect workplace pensions.  For too long, workers’ pensions have taken a back seat to corporate creditors when a company goes belly-up as we saw with Nortel workers.
• Increase Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) payments.  We can lift every senior out of poverty for a fraction what Stephen Harper spend on corporate tax cuts.  Our seniors, our families, deserve it.

People keep asking me:  When is the election coming?  I don’t know.  Nobody does for sure.   I only know that Stephen Harper is making it more difficult for families to make ends meet.  In a minority Parliament, an election can happen at any time.  Being ready is my responsibility to you as your MP.  I will use every moment before the next election – to get things done for you.  To build security for your family, to continue building this community together, not dismantling it.