Tax exemptions are quite complex. The income of an individual who works is considered taxable income. So this income is taxed. The biggest problem is not taxing retirement income, but the fact that the Guaranteed Income Supplement is cut by 50% of the amount from the RRSP, the CPP or interest from other income. This can be in addition to a kind of taxation. This means that, for rather small amounts of income, people are subject to an 80% tax rate. They lose 50% of their Guaranteed Income Supplement and they also pay about 30% in income tax.
The TFSA is for people who are already quite wealthy. That is why I think that we don't need to try to reinvent the wheel. The decision was made to have a public plan because it's mandatory and it's for everyone. Furthermore, this is a way of recognizing, directly and indirectly, the work done by women at home. I think that if we want to improve the situation of men and women, but above all that of women, we need to do so through our public plan.
The premium rates are 9.9% or 10% for the Canada Pension Plan. If we compare this figure to what we see in the United States or Europe, it is not excessive.