Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Lethbridge.
I rise on behalf of the people of Surrey Central, federal public servants, RCMP officers who are retired and currently serving, our military personnel, and the families of all these people to speak to Bill C-78, the government's proposed changes to the public service pension plan.
The bill has become infamous on two counts. On the first count it is because Liberals will steal a one time windfall of $30 billion. Second, it lets the courts decide the definition of marriage. It will allow pension benefits to be delivered based on conjugal relationships.
The Liberals have raided the pension plan surplus federal public servants have amassed in their very successful pension fund. The greed on the other side of the House is disgusting to watch. The lack of respect shown to Canadians by putting a stop to this seizure of wealth and the government preventing debate on this matter in the House is a disgrace.
The government is allowing members of the House four hours to deal with this huge 200 page bill, true to the Liberal's democratic style. It has used outright closure 5 times and it has used time allocation 47 times since 1993.
This is the very same government that has taken $21 billion from the employment insurance fund surplus. The $21 billion should have been returned to the employees and employers who could have created jobs with that money.
Today, through Bill C-78, which we are not allowed to debate for more than a few minutes, the President of the Treasury Board will take $14.9 billion from the public service pension fund, $2.4 billion from the pensions of RCMP employees and $12.9 billion from the pensions of the Canadian armed forces, which adds up to $30.2 billion.
The official opposition maintains that any surplus should remain in the pension plan to cushion taxpayers from future shortfalls. This would ensure the long term viability and guarantee the solvency of our public service pension plans.
In the past Canadian taxpayers have covered $13 billion worth of shortfalls in these pension plans. Taxpayers will be on the hook for future deficits in these plans and we on this side of the House feel that Canadian taxpayers should be protected.
The Liberals want to settle the matter of dealing with the $30 billion surplus by passing Bill C-78 well before the next election in the hopes that the 645,000 pension plan members have short memories. That is not the case.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada says that the surplus money belongs to PSAC members and the government is stealing it. The word the union is using is stealing. It is a very serious charge.
The chief reason for the surplus in the plan is that it was assumed salaries would grow. The six-year wage freeze has reduced the liability of the plan. These surpluses will eventually slow down as wages are increased and today's lower interest rates kick in.
The money the government is taking establishes a precedent and sends a clear message to the private sector that it can follow the lead of the government and help itself to surpluses in employee funds.
This is the sort of government we have. We have a finance minister who cooks the books. We have a government that has no surplus in the Canada pension plan fund. That plan has been so mismanaged for 30 years that it could crash at any time.
Let us look at the history of the $30 billion grab. The President of the Treasury Board created an advisory committee on the Public Service Superannuation Act to look at pensions within the public service. The committee carried on consultations for four years. It was comprised of members of the government, public servants, representatives of employees and pensioner associations.
Now we know that the Liberal minister did not even recognize the further negotiations recommended in the committee's report. The President of the Treasury Board is trampling roughshod over the committee's recommendations and doing what he pleases.
Bill C-78 enables the government to get its hands on surpluses, the ownership of which, while not clearly defined, is morally the property of employees and ex-employees, that is, the pensioners.
This bill will extend pension benefits to same sex couples. It will allow marriage to be redefined and unfairly exclude others. The change in the definition of marriage should not be left up to the courts. It is a decision for members of parliament to take right here in this Chamber.
Granting survivor benefits should have nothing to do with sex, as defined by conjugal relationships. Rather, the definition should be based on a relationship of dependency and companionship. The latter definition would include gay or lesbian couples, but would also apply to a divorced daughter who lived with and cared for her elderly father after he retired from the federal government.
If we believe that what is fair is right, then we should do what is right.
Under Bill C-78 contributions would be deposited in retirement funds and then transferred to the public sector pension investment board. Who will manage the board? That is a big question.
The appointment process will be similar to the one used for the Senate. The appointees, who will be responsible for managing and administering this fund, will be the friends of the government. The Reform Party recommends that the new public sector investment board be comprised of qualified individuals and be accountable for the board's investment decisions.
This is how the Prime Minister appoints his friends to the Senate and the superior court.
Bill C-78 will allow the government, particularly the Minister of Finance, to take $30 billion and say again that it has balanced the budget, paid down the debt and given Canadians some long overdue tax relief. That is what the finance minister will say. He will boast that he is a hero, but he will actually be a zero. If he did all of these things he would be carrying out the official opposition's agenda. Remember that in the health sector alone the government cut over $20 billion in transfers to the provinces. Now, a few years later, it is boasting, saying that it will reinvest $11.5 billion of the money which it siphoned off earlier. The government siphoned off more than $20 billion and now it is reinvesting $11 billion. That is outrageous.
The official opposition would leave the surplus in the account and see that it is well managed. There would be a great deal of consultation between the stakeholders and the government.
There should have been enough time allocated for debate to take place in the House. Shame on the Liberals.
In the little time I have I will quote from a letter I received from a constituent of Surrey. It states:
The height of hypocrisy is to take from the working class to line the pockets of a politician, to make yourselves look good by reducing the debt by 15 billion dollars and to steal from those of us who contribute honestly to a pension that we have come to depend upon for our retirement years.
The letter further states:
We, the regular working Joes and Janes who contribute to this plan, contribute on a dollar for dollar basis and hope to receive back that which we have contributed plus the employer's share for our hard years of service.
If you remove money from any pension fund or EI fund to reduce the debt you are in fact stealing from the people who have contributed to the funds for all these years and are defrauding us of our money when you expect us to pay higher premiums when they are in fact totally unnecessary. Leave my pension fund where it is—
The letter concludes by stating:
As the voice of the people in parliament, if you sit by and do nothing you don't deserve your position of trust and if you allow the deficit to be paid down by the pension contributions of a few you are the biggest thief on the face of the earth and you deserve to be arrested for embezzling my pension money.
That is what my constituent wrote.