Thank you very much.
I represent the Fédération des femmes du Quebec, the umbrella organization for 165 women's groups across Quebec, for committees of women from the labour movement and independent women's groups. We are concerned about women's economic independence and I want to thank you for the opportunity to address the committee today on the subject of the Canada Pension Plan.
The economist with whom we usually work is in Quebec City consulting with the government. Therefore, I am here mainly to answer policy questions. As you know, the Quebec Pension Plan is currently being reformed and often, the QPP is harmonized with expected changes to the CPP. So then, our attention is taken up both by the ongoing debate in Quebec and by the debate taking place here in the House of Commons.
In the case of Bill C-51, the proposed changes must be approved by Quebec lawmakers and by two-thirds of the other provinces representing two-thirds of the Canadian population. That means that even if Parliament adopts the proposed pension legislation, additional steps would need to be taken before the bill becomes law.
However, in so far as actuarial adjustments are concerned, we expect that from now on, these issues will be dealt with through regulations, which creates two problem. Firstly, this approach depoliticizes the debate surrounding increases and often more so in the case of planned cuts, or planned increases in the penalties provided for under the scheme. It also means that changes could be made without the approval of the Government of Quebec, that is of the Quebec National Assembly.
The proposed legislation provides for actuarial adjustments. These adjustments will affect people who retire before 65 years of age. This means that maximum benefits which until now totalled $7,634 at age 60, could be reduced to $6,979. This represent a reduction of 9%. Women already receive two thirds of what men receive, because historically they care for persons with diminishing abilities and for children, meaning that they spend less time in the workforce than most men. Women also continue to earn two thirds of what men do in Canada and consequently, they are further impoverished. The measures set out in this bill will impoverish women, who are already among the poorest members of society in Canada.
Not only does this bill make them poorer, it maintains their economic dependence, in particular during economic hard times. Even women who may have had some private savings experienced a drop in their standard of living.
Like my previous colleague, our federation would like to see the whole CPP issue withdrawn from this bill and opened up to a much broader, more substantial public debate than we have seen thus far. I understand that cross-country consultations are being held on the subject, but there has been no public debate and I'm not sure most Canadian women realize that the government is planning to introduce measures that will substantially and adversely affect their standard of living.
In light of demographic changes, the aging population and the fact that we are living longer, we agree with any initiatives aimed at getting people to remain longer in the workforce. However, they should be able to do so without being penalized. If there is time later, we would like to put forward a number of recommendations on this very issue.
Thank you.