Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the committee.
The New Brunswick Federation of Labour is asking for action on three fronts: pensions, employment insurance and jobs.
First of all, we are calling for the doubling of benefits under the Canadian Pension Plan within seven years. This responsibility can no longer be left solely to businesses and employees because the population is aging. The federal government must help workers, the public and businesses. If pension benefits were doubled, everyone would benefit and poverty among our seniors would be greatly alleviated.
Secondly, we would like the Guaranteed Income Supplement to be increased to a level that would immediately eliminate poverty among the elderly. I think everyone here is in favour of eliminating poverty. No one wants his or her mother or father to live out their years in poverty.
Lastly, we are calling for a uniform entrance requirement of 360 hours of work across the country for EI entitlement, for benefits to be increased by 55% to 60% and for longer benefits of 50 weeks in all regions.
With respect to job creation, I would like to draw your attention to the brief of the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada and the comments of Ms. Judy Dallaire about child care services. We fully agree with her position. Public child care services need to be properly funded across Canada.
Our economy is struggling and we are in the throes of a recession. However, we need to invest significantly more in the public child care system, as the spokesperson for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities noted.
I would like to talk a bit more about the Canada Pension Plan. The reason we are asking for CPP benefits to be increased is simple: only one in five private sector workers will receive a pension and only 40% of Canadian workers have a private pension plan.
On the employment front, there is no question that the federal government must provide assistance to the fishery and forestry sector in Atlantic Canada. The government has helped the auto industry in Ontario, and so too in the Maritimes, in New Brunswick, must it lend assistance to the manufacturing, forestry and fishery sectors.
In conclusion, let me emphasize that jobs created in the public sector must remain in the public sector. The New Brunswick Federation of Labour is opposed to public-private, or P3, partnerships. This is not the course of action to follow. The government needs to invest money in the public sector to create good jobs.
Thank you.