Mr. Speaker, with great respect, as far as the comments of the President of the Treasury Board regarding the MP pension plan and its equity vis-à-vis other Canadians' pension plans are concerned, Canadians know full well that members of Parliament through their pension
plan got the gold mine and Canadians got the shaft. Of that there is no doubt. People know it and they know it for what it is.
In his comments the President of the Treasury Board pointed out that the provinces went along with the changes to the Canada pension plan. They went along with it obviously because they have been partners in this rip-off of Canadians for 30 years.
What the President of the Treasury Board did not say was that one of the features of this renewed Canada pension plan at 9.9 per cent of earnings is that the provinces will have the privilege of rolling over their debt for another 20 years. Therefore, this plan is not going to start getting better right away. They are going to postpone making it healthy or healthier for another 20 years.
My question relates to the equity of the CPP. The President of the Treasury Board indicated during his comments that Canadians need to be fair in sharing the future. It is incumbent on the President of the Treasury Board, in representing the Liberal Party of Canada, which has been in power for at least 20 of the 30 odd years that this plan has been in force, to account for the mismanagement of the plan that got us into this mess in the first place.
Actuaries and demographers did not just wake up overnight. The plan was flawed right from the beginning, but the Liberals did not have the strength to keep their hands off the honey pot. What politician does? The changes to this plan have not made it safe from the honey pot.
Based on the average industrial wage of $36,000, if a young Canadian were to place 3 per cent of earnings over the lifespan of their work into an investment vehicle that has a return of a typical average over the last 40 years, would that Canadian have more money from a 3 per cent investment than they would for their almost 10 per cent investment in the Canada pension plan?