This will certainly reassure them. In my opinion, it will above all demonstrate the importance of the work of parliamentarians, who are elected in particular to defend the common good and the middle class and to strike a fair balance.
We want companies and workers to make money. We want workers to live well. That being said, when they are promised a pension through a defined benefit plan, we should try to honour that promise. At the very least, there should be a process in place to minimize the negative impact on workers.
I repeat that the future legislation obviously does not guarantee that workers will get back all the money promised. However, it does increase their chances.
I give you the example of Cliffs Natural Resources, a mining company that had a plant in Sept-Îles and declared bankruptcy. The City of Sept-Îles recovered $10 million in unpaid taxes. At the same time, the pension fund was $10 million short of 100% funding.
Citizens are all taxpayers, but a municipality can mutualize its losses. In this case, the city could very well have borrowed money and paid it back over a period of 20, 30 or 40 years. Thus, the consequences for citizens would have been minimal.
A city does not die, but a pensioner does. At 70, 80 or 90, the surviving spouse is alone at bat, alone in the face of adversity. We can't leave her alone. We can't leave people in distress and anxiety. We can't leave them in a state of incomprehension.
By passing this bill, parliamentarians from the opposition and ruling parties would send a message that they are capable of making a difference.