Finance Committee on June 8th, 2026

[Galen Countryman]

Thank you for the question.

I'm Galen Countryman, the director general of federal-provincial relations.

The CPP legislation currently has a requirement for the chief actuary to prepare a report after there is a substantive amendment, as was tabled today, regarding a contribution rate reduction. Furthermore, the Minister of Finance has to table those reports forthwith.

Then the CPP legislation also requires the chief actuary to report every three years on the financial state of the plan, and the report is required to be tabled in Parliament forthwith upon receipt, so I believe they are all elements there.

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Crowfoot, AB]

Thank you for answering my question.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you, Mr. Kelly.

Mr. Lawrence.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Countryman, for being here.

I have a couple of questions for you in the same vein.

Is it an existing legislative requirement that at any time there is a change to CPP funding, there must be an actuarial report published? Is that correct?

[Galen Countryman]

It is in the legislation. It's in section 115 of the legislation, if I recall correctly.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

In layman's terms, what does that report have to say?

[Galen Countryman]

The chief actuary has to give a report indicating how the amendments affect the financial health of the plan.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

How did the amendments affect the financial plan?

[Galen Countryman]

The current amendments proposed in Bill C-30 would reduce the contribution rate from 9.9% to 9.5% for the base CPP. The chief actuary determined that 9.5% is sufficient to fund the plan for the next 75 years.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

We will go to Mr. Jackson.

[Grant Jackson, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Like my colleagues, I want to thank Mr. Countryman for being here.

I just want to understand the process a little bit. The bill hasn't passed yet, but the chief actuary has already written an analysis of how the bill, if enacted, would impact the plan. Is that correct as to the process?

[Galen Countryman]

That's correct.

[Grant Jackson, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Is that normal in other government areas? Are assessments made and tabled in a formal report in Parliament before legislation passes?

[Galen Countryman]

This one is set out in the legislation for the Canada pension plan. The chief actuary acted upon it when the legislation amendment was submitted. That's when the chief actuary began to prepare a report. The report's been completed and tabled.

[Grant Jackson, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Then if this bill is amended and passed and turned into law, the chief actuary would already be required to table another report. The chief actuary would then have to do another report, theoretically.

[Galen Countryman]

Is that if you're making amendments to the Canada pension plan?

[Grant Jackson, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

That's right.

[Galen Countryman]

If further amendments were made to the Canada pension plan, then the chief actuary will assess whether section 115 was invoked.

[Grant Jackson, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Okay.

I just wonder if it would not make sense to include these provisions so that it is fully fleshed out and clear in the law. Are you quite comfortable with the requirements between your department and the chief actuary as it stands, regardless of whether this bill amends the Canada pension or not?

[Galen Countryman]

The chief actuary has provided her opinion on the proposed rate contribution in the report that was tabled today.

The legislation currently has the chief actuary in a triennial review process, so we actually get a report every three years on the financial health of the plan. That was set out in legislation a long time ago, I believe, as part of the 1997 reforms.

[Grant Jackson, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

In your opinion, then, regardless of whether this bill is amended or not, in terms of the impact of the bill on the Canada pension plan, you feel there is enough transparency in the legislation as it currently exists to give Canadians confidence that the impacts of changes to the Canada pension plan are going to be accurately reported in Parliament.

[Galen Countryman]

Under the legislation, we have the chief actuary preparing a report every three years on the financial health of the plan.

[Grant Jackson, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Is it your opinion that this is frequent enough to keep Canadians accurately informed about their pension plan?

[Galen Countryman]

In my view, it's fine. It's up to Parliament, and if they wish to change it, that's something they could consider.

For us, it's been accurate. We've been using the triennial review process since 1997.