By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday October 15, 2015
Trudeau win could cancel need for Ontario pension, Wynne says
A majority win for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals next Monday could “absolutely” negate the need for an Ontario pension plan, says Premier Kathleen Wynne.
That’s because Trudeau has promised to enrich the existing Canada Pension Plan, possibly making the proposed complementary Ontario Retirement Pension Plan redundant.
“If we have a partner in Justin Trudeau to sit down and work out what they’re looking at as an enhancement to CPP that was always my starting point,” Wynne said Tuesday as she campaigned in four ridings in Toronto, Oakville, and Burlington to help the federal Liberals.
“That was the solution. A couple of years ago, that’s what we were looking at. We were looking at finance ministers across the country who agreed that they’re needed to be a change to the Canada Pension Plan,” she said.
She noted two-thirds of Ontarians have no workplace pension.
Wynne’s provincial Liberals introduced the ORPP, which takes effect in 2017, after Conservative Leader Stephen Harper refused to improve CPP benefits, which pay out a maximum of about $12,000 annually.
Under the scheme, workers without a plan would have to contribute 1.9 per cent of their pay, which would be matched by their employers.
On the eve of launching the 11-week election campaign, Harper said Ottawa would not aid Queen’s Park by administering the new provincial plan, which he views as a “payroll tax.”
“Kathleen Wynne is mad that I won’t help her do that,” he said in August. “You’re bloody right. The Conservative government is not going to help bring in that kind of tax hike.”
But Trudeau, who is leading in most opinion polls, has repeatedly pledged to boost CPP and work with Wynne to bolster retirement security. (Source: Toronto Star)