Finance committee  No, I did not talk about removing it. I talked about increasing it to $62,000. If memory serves me, it is currently $46,300. So, we are proposing to increase it. If it is spread over the entire period, there will not necessarily be any additional costs--

Finance committee  -- because it is funded by plan members.

Finance committee  Yes, absolutely, in both the medium and long terms. This is something that is needed because, at the present time, people are no longer contributing to the plan as they are receiving benefits. Let us not forget that, according to the most recent statistics, one third of seniors

Finance committee  I see this as another significant advantage for employers and for the different provinces. Transfers are currently not allowed under defined benefit plans. Even when they are, the process is very difficult and the actuarial costs are extremely high. As a consequence, there are ve

Finance committee  One third—33%—of seniors have an annual income of less that $15,000.

Finance committee  We need to make a distinction. First of all, the eminent professor who appeared before you was probably talking about private pension plans. The insolvency problems associated with these plans since 2001 are due, in large part, to two successive financial crises. Obviously, when

Finance committee  Some places have defined benefit pension plans, but others do not. Sixty per cent of workers do not have a pension plan. The majority of those who do, have integrated plans. So, if we enhance the public plans, pressure on the private plans will be reduced. In a way, it would be a

Finance committee  Neither one. It has to be a mandatory contribution deducted from income, just as there is a mandatory contribution to employment insurance. A wage earner does not have the choice of not contributing to Employment Insurance. The last 40 years have been a failure. Voluntary contri

Finance committee  We are talking about insurance for defined benefit plans. The idea is to avoid a situation where workers and retirees end up with a much smaller pension when a company goes bankrupt. One example would be the people working for AbitibiBowater. That company has placed itself under

Finance committee  It would be an independent agency. This has been done elsewhere in the world.

Finance committee  We are proposing that part of the contribution come from members—not necessarily the company; it would come from the members' contribution—as well as a tax on stock market transactions. If memory serves me, this is something that exists in 13 other countries, like the Tobin tax o

Finance committee  I am trying to answer you by explaining that one of the solutions--

Finance committee  One of the solutions we are putting forward is a contribution by members. The plan members are the employer and employees who contribute to the plan. There are also pension committees which have certain obligations. The employer is required to deposit his contribution each month

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  Yes?