Madam Speaker, the hon. government House leader is quite correct. In 1966 when the Canada pension plan was instituted there were more than five workers for every pensioner. The premiums started at around $35 a year to create reserves over time which were loaned to the provinces at nominal rates of interest. At the time it was not of concern because there were sufficient workers in the labour force to provide the benefits.
However as all members know, as the plan matured and our aging society started to kick in, changes had to be made to ensure sufficient premiums were being collected. This had to be done to ease the burden on the labour force 10 to 15 years from now when there will be only three workers for every pensioner. The changes were made because Canadians felt the Canada pension plan system was an important instrument for them not only for its pension benefits but for its survivor, disability and death benefits.
Members may not be aware of this, but a person who started working in Canada in 1966 when the Canada pension plan was introduced and who has continued to work up to today and pay all the premiums would have put in less than two year's worth of Canada pension plan benefits. Such a person would have put less than $16,000 of his or her own money into the Canada pension plan.
This shows that the plan is on a substantive footing. We have the actuarial statements. The Canada pension plan is subject to biannual reviews by the federal and provincial governments to ensure all the provisions are respected and that the work of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is proceeding as planned. Notwithstanding the variability of the marketplace, the plan continues to perform equitably relative to other investors.
However over the longer term a balance between equity and debt instruments has shown a better performance than simple nominal rates to the provinces. This alone reflects the fact that the decision taken by the Parliament of Canada to institute the investment board was exactly the right thing to do.