Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the constituents of Okanagan-Similkameen-Merritt to remind all members of this House of a birthday. The Canada pension plan is 30 years old today.
Normally a birthday is cause for great celebration with balloons, candles and of course my favourite, a great big birthday cake. At 30 years of age you would think we could celebrate a long vibrant time, but CPP is tired and sick with iron poor Liberal blood.
Thanks to the Liberals, the Canada pension plan is another victim of mismanagement. The CPP fund is not self-sufficient and not actuarially sound. In order to be solvent, contributions will have to triple over the next 20 years. The Canada pension plan, introduced by a Liberal government 30 years ago, has been so mismanaged that future Canadians cannot look forward to collecting.
The recent budget does nothing to safeguard our social programs and social safety net.
The Liberals have burst the balloons for today's celebration. They have blown out the candles and have allowed our birthday cake to go stale and mouldy.