Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise in support of Motion No. 11, which is a very important motion.
The workers and the union are very concerned about the future of their pension fund to which they have been contributing for many years. Unfortunately, Bill C-89 does not contain any provision to protect the pension fund after the company is privatized. It is a serious omission.
This amendment is in response to a request by the unions, who do not trust either the employer or the government in this regard. There have been bad experiences there also. The employer has not always contributed to the fund in the way that was provided for in the agreements. This fund should not be used to buy shares. The risk is too great in a market that is too volatile.
The pension plan is the only source of income for most pensioners. I think workers should have more control over their pension fund since it belongs to them.
No change should be made to the pension plan without the consent of the CN Pension Board and the consent of both the workers and their unions. Workers have contributed a lot to the CN pension plan. For example, in 1989, employees traded a 1 per cent salary increase for a partial indexation of their pension plan. That goes to show the importance of this amendment, which I fully support.