House of Commons Hansard #99 of the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was sentence.

Topics

Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

NDP

The Acting Speaker NDP Denise Savoie

Is the House ready for the question?

Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

Some hon. members

Question.

Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

NDP

The Acting Speaker NDP Denise Savoie

The question is on the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

No.

Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

NDP

The Acting Speaker NDP Denise Savoie

All those in favour of the motion will please say yea.

Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

Some hon. members

Yea.

Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

NDP

The Acting Speaker NDP Denise Savoie

All those opposed will please say nay.

Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

Some hon. members

Nay.

Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

NDP

The Acting Speaker NDP Denise Savoie

In my opinion the yeas have it.

And five or more members having risen:

In accordance with Standing Order 45, the recorded division stands deferred until Monday, October 26, at the time of adjournment.

Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime ActGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

Conservative

Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON

Madam Speaker, I believe if you seek it you will get unanimous consent to see the clock as 1:30 p.m.

Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime ActGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

NDP

The Acting Speaker NDP Denise Savoie

Is there unanimous consent?

Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime ActGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

No.

Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime ActGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

Liberal

Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. We always operate under collegiality and a presumption of honesty, but I thought the government said it wanted to advance this bill quickly, and I want to know why it has decided to delay the vote on this bill rather than passing it right now. The government member should explain.

Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime ActGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

NDP

The Acting Speaker NDP Denise Savoie

This is not a point of order.

Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime ActGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

Conservative

Rob Merrifield Conservative Yellowhead, AB

Madam Speaker, I think if you seek it you will find unanimous consent to see the clock as 1:30 p.m.

Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime ActGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

NDP

The Acting Speaker NDP Denise Savoie

There is no unanimous consent.

The House resumed from October 21 consideration of the motion that Bill C-42, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Ending Conditional Sentences for Property and Other Serious Crimes ActGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

Liberal

Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to participate in the debate on this bill to amend the Criminal Code.

We have been dealing with a number of bills, but coincidentally I have seen all the bills before. About 120 days ago I saw them. In the last Parliament I saw them. Now we see that the government, which had the support of three opposition parties to pass the last bill and get it moving, has voted against its own bill so that it can force a vote, at which the government will be voting for it. This is yet another example of trying to drag out legislation on criminal justice issues that the House is prepared to deal with.

If you look at the record, Madam Speaker, you will see that the government has blamed everybody else for delaying this legislation. That is the problem. It is extremely important to understand where the backlog is.

Last night, as a matter of fact, in the debate on the private member's bill to put suicide bombings in the definition of terrorist attacks, the government did not allow the mover of the bill to collapse the debate and pass it yesterday for Senator Jerry Grafstein. It is not—

Ending Conditional Sentences for Property and Other Serious Crimes ActGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

NDP

The Acting Speaker NDP Denise Savoie

I regret to interrupt the hon. member on his highly relevant speech, but he will be able to continue his comments the next time this bill is before the House.

It being 1.30 p.m., the House will now proceed to the consideration of Private Members' Business according to the order indicated in today's order paper.

The House resumed from June 18 consideration of the motion that Bill C-290, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (tax credit for loss of retirement income) be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Speaker's RulingIncome Tax ActPrivate Members' Business

1:30 p.m.

NDP

The Acting Speaker NDP Denise Savoie

Before resuming debate on this bill, I am prepared to rule on the point of order raised on June 18, 2009 by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons concerning the requirement for a royal recommendation for Bill C-290, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (tax credit for loss of retirement income), standing in the name of the member for Richmond—Arthabaska.

I would like to thank the parliamentary secretary for having raised this matter, as well as the member for Richmond—Arthabaska for his contribution to the questions.

Members will recall that Bill C-290 was among those bills identified as causing some concern for the chair, as stated on June 2 at Debates, page 4074. In his remarks, the parliamentary secretary clearly identified Bill C-290 as proposing to reintroduce a refundable tax credit. He further commented that refundable credits are direct benefits paid to individuals regardless of whether the tax is owed or not, and are paid out of the consolidated revenue fund.

He went on to point out, citing a Speaker's ruling made on June 4, 2007, and a ruling made by the Speaker of the other place on May 11, 2006, that refundable tax credits have been ruled to require a royal recommendation.

In his comments on this issue, the hon. member for Richmond—Arthabaska, while acknowledging that the bill seeks to create a refundable tax credit, drew the attention of the House to an earlier Speaker’s ruling of October 16, 1995 in support of his contention that measures to alleviate taxation do not require a royal recommendation.

The chair notes that a question similar to that at issue here was raised with respect to Bill C-445, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (tax credit for loss of retirement income), in the second session of the 39th Parliament.

That bill, which appears to be very similar to Bill C-290, was also introduced by the member for Richmond—Arthabaska, and was determined to require a royal recommendation in a ruling given on May 2, 2008.

The chair has reviewed carefully Bill C-290, particularly with respect to the manner in which it compares to the earlier Bill C-445, and as was noted in the May 2, 2008 ruling on Bill C-445,

Whether or not the tax credit is refundable or non-refundable is the key issue in determining the need for a royal recommendation.

Non refundable credits are deducted from a person’s tax payable rather than being calculated separately: they simply reduce the amount of tax payable by an individual.

Refundable credits, on the other hand, are not limited simply to the reduction of tax payable. They provide an entitlement to funds which is independent of the tax otherwise due. They are calculated separately and, where no further reduction of tax payable is possible, they give rise to a disbursement from the consolidated revenue fund. Any such disbursement, no matter how it may be characterized in the legislation which proposes it, represents spending for a new and distinct purpose and must therefore be accompanied by a royal recommendation.

In this regard, there does not appear to be any substantive difference between Bill C-290 and its predecessor, Bill C-445. Both involve refundable tax credits.

Accordingly, the Chair will decline to put the question on third reading of Bill C-290 in its present form unless a royal recommendation is received.

The debate, however, is on the motion for second reading, and this motion will be put to a vote at the conclusion of the second reading debate.

Second ReadingIncome Tax ActPrivate Members' Business

1:35 p.m.

Liberal

John McKay Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood, ON

Madam Speaker, thank you for this opportunity and your ruling. That was in fact one of the points that I was going to raise in debate. This bill did appear to require a royal recommendation and I think that you have clarified that point. In some respects, it makes the debate a bit moot because it is very doubtful that the government will give a royal recommendation to this particular bill.

This debate takes place in the context that Canadians are exceedingly worried about their pensions. We saw a demonstration this week by Nortel employees in front of Parliament Hill. It was a very moving and powerful demonstration of people who have worked for a very long time with a particular company that has gone bankrupt.

They experience a double whammy. First, their pensions have literally gone south with the bankruptcy because the assets of Nortel have in some measure gone to the United States to be distributed according to the laws in the United States, which leaves Canadian pensioners out in the cold.

Here, the pensioners rank behind certain categories of creditors. It is a double hit as far as they are concerned. They rank below secured creditors here and those assets that are attributable to the American operation take priority and go south, so those assets cannot be realized either.

The Nortel folks are in real difficulty. There was a particular scene on television two nights ago where a woman was asking where her prime minister was? Her pension and retirement are devastated. Where is the government? The truth of the matter is that the government is missing in action on this file. It has proposed no legislation whatsoever with respect to pension protection.

While the hon. member has proposed Bill C-290, which may be in and of itself be a flawed bill, it is probably a greater response than we have received from the government in the four years in which it has been the government.

I do commend the hon. parliamentary secretary for his work in this area. I know that he has engaged others in this conversation, but having engaged others in this conversation is too little, too late. The pensions of Canadians melted down last year and a lot of them have not come back. It is very sad and difficult.

While Rome literally burns, the government fiddles. We have no comprehensive response to either the Nortel people or others. When questions are raised on this side of the House, the Minister of Industry says that it is a provincial problem. As a consequence, the government says that it is washing its hands of it and that it is just too bad for the folks who do not have pensions.

People put in 30 to 35 years of work at a particular company and they are set to enjoy their retirement, but they are out of luck. That is the sad state of affairs in our country and it is a sad state of affairs with respect to the government's response to the pension crisis that is happening in this country.

The bill itself raises a number of interesting difficulties. I suppose that our party is in the position of saying that it is probably worth going to committee, even though we know full well that it will require a royal recommendation and that this bill will never receive royal assent. Nevertheless, it does raise some interesting questions.

The first question has to do with the government funding shortfalls of pensions. The concept of the bill is that if an employer does not contribute the proportion that he, she or it is supposed to contribute to the pension plan that year, the taxpaying employee will receive, in this case, a refundable tax credit, which is the operative difficulty. Effectively, that means that the employee of company A, which does not contribute, will get a tax credit. However, the employee of company B, which does contribute, will not receive a tax credit.

This brings us into a kind of moral hazard, slippery slope argument. The problem is that the government, or the taxpayer in this case, is effectively bailing out companies that do not contribute to pension plans for whatever reason. That in and of itself is a difficulty because we should not encourage competition among companies in the same industry to not contribute.

For example, let me use companies A, B and C. Companies B and C contribute to pension plans and are therefore draining their own capital. Company A does not contribute. Companies B and C are actually at a competitive disadvantage with company A, all at the cost of the taxpayer of Canada. That is a fairly significant flaw. I commend the hon. member for bringing this legislation forward, but that is a difficulty that is problematic for those of us on the committee that would look at this legislation. I do not know whether the member anticipated this difficulty.

The second difficulty I see with the bill is that it would only deal with people who have pensions. I am given to understand that something in the order of 70% of Canadians do not have pensions. Therefore, taxpayers are contributing to a pension plan out of taxpayer-funded dollars where 70% of those same taxpayers have no plan at all. The no plan taxpayer is contributing to the plan taxpayer. While we would like to redress all of the inequities in this world, this does not seem to me to be quite fair to those who fund their retirement through RRSPs or investments of some kind or another.

It is a bit difficult to rationalize to constituents of mine who have lived in their houses for 35 years, have worked, have no pension, and have lived frugally, to contribute to this pension through their tax dollars. That is a difficulty in itself.

Those are two of the difficulties that I would raise with the bill independent of the requirement for a royal recommendation.

Just for the purposes of those who may or may not understand what a royal recommendation is, a private member's bill cannot cause the Government of Canada to spend money. Any private member's bill has to be shaped and framed so that it does not cause an expenditure out of the treasury.

Having made your ruling, Madam Speaker, and having given us fair warning that this legislation would require a royal recommendation, means that when a vote takes place and if the vote is positive and the bill ends up in committee, there is a very slim likelihood that it will emerge from committee.

On the face of it, I again commend the hon. member for his diligence in putting the bill forward, but in addition to the royal recommendation problem it does seem to have some flaws which would make it difficult. Nonetheless, the bill is an attempt on the part of a private member to address issues relating to pensions. I am rather saddened that we are not looking at comprehensive legislation from the government to deal with what is really a pension crisis in this country.

Second ReadingIncome Tax ActPrivate Members' Business

1:45 p.m.

NDP

Bill Siksay NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to Bill C-290, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (tax credit for loss of retirement income) that has been put forward by the member for Richmond—Arthabaska. I know the member has tried on a number of occasions to move the bill through the House. In the last Parliament he succeeded in getting it a considerable way through the process, but the early election call short-circuited that effort and unfortunately we have had to start all over again in consideration of this piece of legislation.

I know too that the legislation came out of the member's discussions with workers and retirees in his riding and other ridings in the province of Quebec who faced a loss of income in their retirement pensions. This was one of the solutions that came about as a result of those discussions, those conversations. I commend him for that process and for putting this idea before the House of Commons.

New Democrats believe this is an important idea and that it merits support. New Democrats are supporting the idea although we recognize that it is only a small piece of what needs to be done in terms of ensuring pension security, retirement income security for Canadians. I am sure the member also recognizes that this is only one piece of a much larger puzzle.

What does the bill do? It would grant a refundable tax credit equal to 22% of the reduction in pension benefits experienced by beneficiaries of registered pension plans other than trusts who suffer a loss of pension benefits normally when their pension plans are wound up in whole or in part. It would apply to both defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans.

What exactly does that mean? That is the official description or account of what the bill does. One of the examples of what the bill would actually mean is that if the income of a retiree's pension drops from say $30,000 to $22,000, he or she would receive 22% of the $8,000 loss which would mean a non-taxable amount of $1,760. So it does not go the whole way to recovering the loss someone might experience in their registered pension plan, but it would be of some assistance to the folks who do find themselves in that difficult position. This is a contribution to dealing with the situation of loss in pension income and income security for retirees in Canada.

My colleague, the NDP critic for seniors and pensions, the member for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, has been working diligently on this issue holding consultations and conversations with retirees and seniors across Canada to find out exactly what would be helpful to them much in the same way that the member for Richmond—Arthabaska has done in coming up with this legislation.

The NDP's pensions critic has come up with a very detailed and broad-based plan to assist Canadians with the security of their retirement income. We know that is very important these days. It was important when the bill was originally introduced, but the change in the economic situation, the recession, has made it even more necessary because more and more people are feeling that pinch and have seen a reduction in their retirement income.

We know there are two facets to retirement income in Canada. There is the private system of workplace pensions, of RRSPs, of private savings. We know those private elements of our retirement income system have taken the biggest hit in this recession with the collapse of financial markets.

The parts of the system that have maintained themselves, that have been rock solid in many people's opinion, are the public elements: the old age security program, the guaranteed income supplement and the Canada and Quebec pension plans. It is very important for us to realize that in planning a public retirement income system we have designed a system that can weather this kind of economic storm where the private system has taken significant hits and retirees who have had significant investment in the private elements of the system have taken a significant hit.

The public system has been there to support people through this kind of crisis. I hope we hold that experience close at hand when we are considering how we might approach security and retirement income in the coming months and years. People put a lot into saving for their retirement and they need to depend on that when they are no longer able to work or choose not to work any longer.

The NDP has put forward a very detailed plan. Part of that plan was passed unanimously in the House back in the spring. Hon. members will remember when all parties in the House agreed that significant action was needed on pension reform and to ensure income security in our retirement. That was good news, although the government has yet to act on that unanimous sentiment of the House and has yet to act in any way to shore up, to expand or to make better our pension system in Canada. We are hoping we will see that kind of movement from the government in the not too distant future.

New Democrats continue to put forward other ideas and expand on those we have already made. One of those ideas is to expand the CPP-QPP for the 93% of Canadians who already are members of that plan and who benefit from it. The NDP is proposing that there be a phased-in doubling of benefits in the CPP-QPP from the current maximum of $908.75 a month to $1,817.50 a month. It would take the pressure off both people's savings and private workplace plans and create a more stable savings environment for people on pensions.

We know there is a cost associated with this. It is estimated that this plan to double CPP-QPP benefits would need to see an additional payroll deduction of about 2.5%. That is often less than the annual administration fees of many RRSPs. Therefore, in that sense, it is a very good bargain for people who are trying to find a stable and reliable source of retirement income.

Our proposal goes on to mention that there could be a tax credit to soften the burden of that increased payroll deduction for low income people. This would go a long way to ensuring stable and reasonable retirement income for Canadians. It would also go some way to increasing the benefit of able people. In fact, this plan would see up to 63% replacement of pre-retirement income for Canadians, as opposed to the current 38% under the existing terms of the CPP-QPP.

It is a great idea and it is one that we could accomplish. It is one that we collectively contribute to and that we could actually make happen if we decided to move in that way. I hope the government will consider this very serious idea.

Another great idea would be to increase the old age security. This is the basic bottom line plan that should ensure that no Canadian senior lives in poverty. The NDP is saying that an investment of $700 million in the OAS program would accomplish lifting all Canadian seniors out of poverty. I know that is a significant amount of money but it is not a significant amount of money when we consider some of the other places in which the current government is spending money, including the $60 billion in tax cuts it is giving to large corporations in Canada. That is $60 billion for the large corporations when $700 million would ensure that no Canadian senior would live below the poverty line.

It seems to me that would be an excellent investment, especially during a recession when we know that anybody who is collecting OAS is spending that money in their community. If we can lift all Canadian seniors out of poverty with that kind of investment, we should go about it and do it right away.

The final piece of the NDP plan is to ensure that there is a pension insurance scheme, like the deposit insurance scheme that we have on our bank and credit union deposits. This scheme would be self-funded. It would go some way to ensuring that if there were a problem with the pension, there would be an insurance program that guaranteed some continuation of that pension. We also think there should be some kind of federal government mechanism to ensure that when a pension plan is falling apart, the government has a mechanism for intervening and ensuring that some continuation of that pension is possible.

We have some specific examples on the table for discussion, which we hope the government will look at carefully. We have costed them out and we think they are cost effective. We think they will help Canadians. Like the suggestion in Bill C-290, we think they are all necessary to move forward in ensuring retirement income security for Canadians, something that is particularly important today during the economic crisis that we are experiencing.

Second ReadingIncome Tax ActPrivate Members' Business

1:55 p.m.

Bloc

Serge Cardin Bloc Sherbrooke, QC

Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking and congratulating my colleague from Richmond—Arthabaska, who worked on human resources issues with other colleagues, including the members for Chambly—Borduas and Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour. They worked especially hard on two files: Atlas Steels in Sorel-Tracy and the Jeffrey Mine in Asbestos. They took an interest in these cases involving retirees who were deprived of so much of their pension income that it caught our attention and got us thinking of ways to alleviate their losses.

Like all Bloc members, and I say this often and without partisan bias, my three colleagues consult their fellow citizens and listen to their needs and expectations more than anyone else. They are also very aware of the responsibilities of different levels of government. In this case, the federal government has a clear responsibility.

For example, I would like to describe some of the meetings that took place at the Jeffrey Mine in Asbestos, because I want to focus on this case. The mine is just a few minutes' drive from my riding and I visit the area often. We know that the municipality has taken some serious hits economically because of the mines located there.

Naturally, retirees have a lot riding on Bill C-290. It was previously introduced by the member for Richmond—Arthabaska during the last Parliament. However, the Conservative government was so determined to have an election that it stopped the work in its tracks.

In the case of the Jeffrey Mine, over 1,200 retired workers saw most of their retirement funds cut off. This had a major impact on their living standard and quality of life. So, after speaking with those affected, this refundable tax credit—which this clearly is—was developed and proposed. We also know that, unfortunately, the Conservative government often creates non-refundable tax credits, which means that people in the lowest income brackets can never benefit from these tax credits. In fact, they cannot benefit from them, because they do not pay taxes. In cases where retirement pensions are largely cut off, and if those people's incomes are low, they can still benefit from this refundable tax credit. As my colleague said earlier, this tax credit is not equivalent to the losses these retired workers can face. It is a tax credit of 22% on what they lose. Therefore, it is not a huge bailout. Another important point is that it is not taxable.

So what this does is soften the blow and ensure that retired people can benefit from this money.

I would like to quickly explain what is happening with pension funds, especially in this economic environment. As we all know, there are two kinds of pension plans. There are defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans. Specifically in order to avoid creating differences and disparities between the two systems, the bill tries to respond to both systems, since it calculates the gap between the pension that should have been received and the pension that is actually received. The 22% refundable tax credit is calculated based on that difference.

With a defined benefit plan, it is possible to calculate in advance the pension a person will receive, for example, 2% per year of service, based on the individual's best five years on average. The benefit is determined and the employee's and employer's contributions are adjusted using actuarial analyses and calculations.

Sometimes there are surpluses during periods when rates of return are high. There are also sometimes deficits, as we have seen recently. However, the employer is normally responsible for making up any deficits so that the predetermined benefit does not change and is always equal to 2% of the best five years for the number of years for which contributions were made.

There is also the money purchase plan. The name says it all: people agree on pension contributions and actuarial studies determine what the benefits will be. The employer and the employee both contribute to the plan. All sorts of things can happen. Additional contributions may be needed to maintain a pension at a level similar to what was anticipated. As I said, this is not a defined benefit plan. Benefits can therefore vary, but one thing is certain: if the pension plan is underfunded, it is still possible to calculate the difference between the pension that would have been received if all the contributions had been made and the pension actually received. Here again, there is a difference between the two. Whether the plan is a defined benefit plan or a money purchase plan, a refundable tax credit will be determined by multiplying 22% by the difference.

What is the government's responsibility in all this? I believe the federal government has a responsibility. Take the defined benefit plan. There are periods when the interest rate and performance are fantastic and everyone wants to invest. We know how that works. As a result, there are surpluses. When there is a surplus in the fund, the employees no longer need to contribute. When there are surpluses the employer can keep contributing or this can be negotiated. The Conservatives will surely ask us why there is no contingency fund for the lean years when there might be a deficit and no plan to keep the surplus high enough to avoid actuarial deficits.

The Conservatives might blame management, but it is not necessarily management's fault. It is the federal income tax act that does not allow surpluses to exceed 10%. Accordingly, the federal government bears a significant share of the responsibility because it does not allow surpluses to exceed 10%. If that had been allowed, I am sure that people would have acted responsibly and would have built up this surplus in order to help cope with the difficult years. We have to hold the government accountable for not allowing pension fund managers to have the necessary tools.

I am calling on all hon. members in this House to vote in favour of this bill so that it can be referred to committee. We can then discuss it and make the government aware of its share of the responsibility. We have to pass this wonderful bill introduced by my colleague from Richmond—Arthabaska.

Second ReadingIncome Tax ActPrivate Members' Business

2:05 p.m.

Conservative

Tilly O'Neill-Gordon Conservative Miramichi, NB

Madam Speaker, today I will address the many deficiencies in the Bloc proposal being debated, and also highlight the important work our Conservative government has done to address concerns surrounding pensions and pension security. Before outlining the numerous flaws in this costly Bloc proposal, we should look at the broader context of Canada's pension system and the actions taken by our Conservative government to ensure it remains sound.

Clearly, all parliamentarians recognize that pension security is a matter of the utmost importance to all workers and a key element in ensuring the effectiveness of Canada's retirement income system.

Canada has a diversified retirement income system based on a mix of public and private pensions. The two public pension pillars, the old age security and the guaranteed income supplement programs, along with the Canada and Quebec pension plans ensure a basic level of income in retirement for Canadians.

The third pillar, tax deferred private retirement savings, includes registered pension plans and RRSPs. These plans provide Canadians with incentives to save for retirement and to help bridge the gap between public pension benefits and their retirement income goals.

Employer-sponsored pension plans are a key component of the third pillar of the retirement income system. The best way of ensuring that pension benefits are secure is to have healthy supervision. Pension benefit standards are a responsibility of both the federal government and the provincial governments.

I note here that only about 10% of all pension plan members participate in federally regulated plans. At the federal level, pension plans are regulated under the Pension Benefits Standards Act and are supervised by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.

This retirement income system has been relatively successful when compared to other jurisdictions internationally in ensuring Canadians achieve acceptable levels of income in retirement in order to maintain their living standards.

As was reported in the Toronto Star earlier this week, Canada actually has one of the best retirement systems in the world. This country is essentially tied with the Netherlands, Australia and Sweden for pensioner protection, as measured by adequacy of funding, long-term sustainability of payouts and integrity in management. The survey of 11 industrial nations was conducted by Mercer LLC, one of the leading world corporate benefit consultants, and the Melbourne Centre for Financial Studies.

Nevertheless, all parliamentarians would concede that while our retirement income system is effective and sound, that does not mean we should not be working to improve it further. That is exactly what our Conservative government has been doing.

Since the beginning of the year, we have been looking at ways to ensure that the retirement income system is responsive to the needs of workers, pensioners and seniors, consistent with sound and sustainable policy principles. In January, we released a major research paper on federally regulated pension plans for comment, after which we conducted a cross-country and online public consultation open to all.

Indeed as part of the consultation process, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, the member for Macleod, engaged with Canadians through public meetings across Canada, including stops in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Whitehorse and Vancouver. Based on the feedback we received from Canadians, comprehensive regulatory changes to improve the federal pension framework are being drafted and will be released shortly.

Also, we have long recognized the need to work with our provincial partners to examine the larger pension concerns facing Canadians. That is why we raised the issue at the annual meeting of finance ministers in late 2008, and earlier this year set up a joint federal-provincial research working group with respected academic Jack Mintz as director of research to conduct an in-depth examination of retirement income adequacy.

The Minister of Finance has already convened a national summit of his provincial and territorial counterparts for this coming December to discuss the findings of this important group.

Without a doubt, our Conservative government has taken the pension issue seriously and is treating the issues surrounding it in a comprehensive manner.

On the other hand, Bill C-290 falls short in this respect.—