Mr. Speaker, in February when the federal and provincial finance ministers reached an agreement to modify the Canada pension plan they solved a problem that should have been tackled 10 years ago.
They responded to the priorities expressed by Canadians during the consultations and as a result all retired CPP pensioners and those over 65 as of December 31, 1997 are not affected by any of the changes. Those currently receiving disability benefits, survivor benefits or combined benefits also are not affected. All benefits under the CPP will remain fully indexed to inflation and the age of retirement remains the same.
Canadians have had their confidence in the CPP restored. Now all Canadians can count on the CPP to be part of their retirement income in future. This is another example of a successful federation at work.