Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Frontenac—Mégantic.
I am pleased to rise at third reading to speak to Bill C-78 , an act to establish the Public Service Pension Investment Board, to amend the Public Service Superannuation Act, the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, the Defence Services Pension Continuation Act, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Pension Continuation Act, the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act and the Canada Post Corporation Act and to make a consequential amendment to another Act.
As I said in the House at report stage, Bill C-78 is of particular interest to me. On many occasions I have risen in this House on behalf of the elderly and senior citizens organizations to defend their interests.
Moreover I want to draw the attention of the House to the fact that this week is dedicated to senior citizens, to the Fédération de l'âge d'or. As a matter of fact, I will probably rise in the House during Statements by Members to stress the contribution of seniors to society.
This bill is aimed at making changes to the public sector pension plans, and contrary to what the President of the Treasury Board said, these changes are of great concern to federal employees and retirees. Obviously the Bloc Quebecois is opposed to this bill.
In 1997, the life expectancy of Canadians and Quebecers reached unprecedented levels for both men and women. Life expectancy is 81.4 years for women, and 75.8 years for men. Canada comes fourth among countries where people live the longest. However, sadly, in 1997, the number of suicides in Quebec accounted for 37% of the total number of suicides registered across Canada.
Over the past few years a $30 billion surplus has accumulated in the public service, RCMP and National Defence pension plans. The Bloc Quebecois cannot accept that the federal government unilaterally decided to make major changes to its employees' pension plans.
The Bloc Quebecois has been very consistent in what it has been saying about pension plans. Pension plans should not be changed to the detriment of senior citizens.
In Quebec, the majority of people over 50 would like to see some kind of legislation to protect senior citizens. A draft version of the bill had previously been introduced. François Legault, not the provincial minister but the current president of the Fédération de l'âge d'or du Québec, the FADOQ, is showing an interest in this bill.
According to a Léger & Léger poll conducted on behalf of the Commission des services juridiques, 93% of the 1,009 respondents said they were in favour of the urgent implementation of an act to protect the elderly.
These results are in stark contrast with the opinion, held until recently, that seniors do not want to be regulated by an act similar to the legislation for young people, because it might make them feel like children.
As a spokesperson for the elderly, I agree that they should be better protected.
It is definitely not the first time that the federal government tries to reduce its debt at the expense of our seniors. The elderly have always reacted strongly.
There is clearly a similarity between the control exerted by the federal government on the employment insurance surplus that has been growing in recent years. The government claims, wrongly so, that this surplus belongs to it, like the surplus targeted with Bill C-78.
The promise to have joint management of public sector pension plans is very important to the Bloc Quebecois, and a lot of people are asking the government to keep its promise. There must be a management board made up of representatives of the employer, employees as well as retirees.
As I said previously in this House, unfortunately, Bill C-78 does nothing to make that promise come true.
It is only normal for seniors to claim their share. This unilateral appropriation of funds to the tune of $30 billion by the government is an insult. The surplus belongs to both the employer and the employees, not to the government.
Let us not forget that 1999 is the International Year of the Elderly. Moreover, this week is Senior Citizens' Week. I would also like to remind members that the fourth world conference on ageing will be held in Montreal, at the convention centre, September 5 to 9, 1999. I hope I got my message across.
As I was saying the last time I spoke to Bill C-78 in this House, a stamp honouring the elderly is not enough. Let us not forget that, this year, the theme for International Women's Day was “Going Strong—Celebrating Older Women”. Retired women, who often form the majority, are sometimes and even often the poorest.
The Bloc Quebecois has spoken on many occasions in the past against interference by the federal government. The Bloc Quebecois is against Bill C-78 because it allows the government to appropriate the $30 billion surplus in the public sector pension plans, just as it did, unfortunately, with the employment insurance surplus.