Letter: Canadians need real pension protection

Editor’s note: This letter is in response to the story “Lapointe supports pension change in wake of Laurentian debacle”, published Nov. 27.

We were somewhat confused by your coverage of Sudbury MP Viviane Lapointe’s support for Bill C-228 and pensioner protection. 

During third reading, Lapointe’s speech to parliament positioned her as a quasi-spokesperson for the pension industry. She spoke as though on behalf of pension managers, pension investors, business interests, and banks.

She repeated dire warnings of the unintended consequences of proceeding with C-228 despite the fact the pension industry when questioned in committee could not provide any data or evidence to support their predictions.

This comes as no surprise. Despite ultimately voting in favour of C-228, during the Standing Committee on Finance hearings to review the bill the Liberals made five separate attempts to prioritize banks over Canadian seniors. In essence, the Liberals have allied themselves with banks and the pension industry.

We are calling on MP Lapointe to clarify her position and work with her senate colleagues to champion real pension protection for Canadians. We cannot afford another insolvency debacle like Sears, Nortel or Laurentian University.

Michael Powell
President
Canadian Federation of Pensioners