Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Welcome, everyone, and thank you for flying or driving here for a visit.
I will start off with a general comment about CPP. We live in a time when private employer pension plans are declining as a percentage of coverage of the workforce. We live in a time when interest rates are very low, so there is a big disincentive for firms to continue to maintain what's called a defined benefit pension plan. The CPP is a true defined benefit pension plan. You get it every month, it's stable, it's secure, it's indexed to inflation, everyone contributes, and it's portable, so you can go from one employer to another. The CPP has many advantages that I think make it an envy of the world.
This strengthening of the pension plan will ensure that the next generation of workers and many current workers will receive greater benefits. The replacement rate goes up from 25% to 33%. It is graduated. Not everyone is going to pay the full amount, and not everyone is going to pay the least amount.
To the CFIB, Ms. Moreau, I understand your concerns. Small businesses, SMEs, are the backbone of our economy. We need them healthy, we need them robust, and we need them employing Canadians.
When I was growing up, I worked at McDonald's, Tim Hortons, and Zellers, so I understand that the local businesses need to be supported. Our government is supporting them through tax cuts to middle-class Canadians and an increase in the Canada child benefit. We also need to make sure that workers today and tomorrow are taken care of and that they have a secure and dignified retirement.
We need to look at the bigger picture. This is an investment in Canadians. The other side likes to think not. I think it's an investment in Canadians and an investment in their retirement future.
I'm going to start off with Hassan Yussuff of the CLC because I'd like to hear the feedback you're receiving from your members for our government's achievement in terms of being able to strengthen the retirement pension plan.
To Ms. Moreau, what else are you hearing from your constituency? That is the small and local businesses, which I visit on a daily basis when I'm in my riding and I talk to, whether it's the local Nicol's Pastry Shop or the Desserts Plus down the street.
Mr. Yussuff.