Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and a privilege to rise in this House and speak to an issue that I believe was of concern to all of the residents of Thornhill, the young and the old.
As I begin, I would like to tell this House a little bit about the riding of Thornhill. Thornhill is a newly created riding, created by redistribution. For the very first time since the 1970s, we see Thornhill put back together again. The provincial government had divided Thornhill.
If one visits the riding one will find that old Thornhill straddles both sides of Yonge Street, part of it in the town of Vaughan and part of it in Markham. Now for the very first time with the creation of the new federal riding of Thornhill, Markham, Vaughan, Concord and all of the wonderful communities within those entities have come together under the name of Thornhill.
Thornhill is a vibrant riding with many businesses. I have to say that the businesses are very aware of the need for fixing the Canada pension plan and the problems that have plagued the Canada pension plan for many years. Each one who works in a business or who owns a business understands the importance of the Canada pension plan to Canadians and to Canadian values.
Within Thornhill is a very young community. As I knocked on doors and met people from all over the world, one of the things that was clear was that people in Thornhill are concerned about whether or not we will have in place in the future programs and plans like the Canada pension plan to protect them when they get sick and need disability insurance. Many were aware of the problems that have existed for some time with Canada pension plan. Many were aware of the need for the plan to be fixed.
I approached Bill C-2 from the following perspective. The first question I asked was, is there a problem? The answer to that question is yes, there is a problem. The problem is not a new one. It has existed for a long time. We could stand, we could point fingers and we could say “During the years of the Conservative government it did nothing to fix the plan”. That would not be productive, although it would be true.
The response of the government has been that there is a problem. What did it do about that? It did two things. The first thing it did was consult Canadians to make them aware of the problem. The people of Thornhill are very aware that there are problems with the Canada pension plan. They are aware that if it is left untouched and unchanged, the plan will implode. It will not be there for future generations.
I do not think that many of the young people in Thornhill believed that the Canada pension plan would ever be there for them. The seniors in Thornhill were very concerned because they said “How will changes to this plan impact me?”
It is important that these questions be answered. Not only did the government consult widely with Canadians, it also sat down with the provinces. While the Canada pension plan is a federal pension plan in the eyes of the people, the reality is that it is a federal-provincial plan. Changes can only occur if a majority of the provinces approve and recognize that a significant majority of the people of this country approve the changes. In other words the federal government could not unilaterally make these changes.
To those constituents in Thornhill who, when I knocked on their doors, said “Isn't it possible for governments to work together,” I say to them and to everyone in the House that Bill C-2 is an example of governments working together.
Was it unanimous? Absolutely not. Did they get a national consensus? Yes, I believe the governments did. A majority of the provinces, including Ontario, representing a significant majority of the population of Canada, have signed an agreement to make changes to the Canada pension plan that will solve the problem. The plan will be fixed and I will be able to say to the next generation, to the young people of Thornhill and to the young people of Canada, that the Canada pension plan will be there for them in future generations.
That is the commitment of the government and that is what Bill C-2 accomplishes. It fixes a problem that has been identified and it ensures that the plan is viable into the future.
The next test and the next question that I asked on behalf of the people of Thornhill was “Is this done fairly? Is it done with accountability to the people who rely on this plan and want to know that it is there?”