Madam Speaker, I apologize for the hiccup. I hope I will be forgiven, as it is my birthday today.
I am pleased to participate virtually in the debate surrounding Bill C-253, proposed by the hon. member for Manicouagan, of the Bloc Québécois. The purpose of this bill is to amend the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Bill C-253 is the logical continuation of Bill C-372 that the hon. member for Manicouagan introduced in 2016, during the previous Parliament.
At the time, this bill was only debated for an hour before it died on the Order Paper because the Liberal government did nothing. The purpose of the bill was to prevent other retirees from unfairly losing their pension funds that they have worked all their lives for, which is what happened to the workers at Cliffs Natural Resources.
Let us set the scene for a moment. In 2015, this U.S. company wants to place its two Canadian subsidiaries under the protection of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. Meanwhile, Cliffs Natural Resources announces plans to restructure its activities with a view to shutting down its operations in eastern Canada. However, the restructuring had quite dire consequences, not only for existing employees, but also for pensioners, who lost much of their pension fund and group insurance.
That tragic situation was the impetus for the bill, which was intended to make legislative fixes, which my colleague will be much better able to confirm since I was not yet in the House at the time. Had Bill C-372 become law when the events had taken place a year earlier, the Cliffs Natural Resources pensioners would certainly have been given a bigger piece of the pie, namely the claim that was owed to them.
By proposing to amend the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, I think that we are calling today for legislation that will ensure fairer treatment for retired workers while maintaining fair treatment for creditors.
The purpose of the bill is therefore to prevent other creditors from getting access to what, in the end, amounts to the workers' life savings in the case of bankruptcy or restructuring. That seems logical. Since seniors are more financially vulnerable than other demographics, today, we would like this bill to fill a gap that has been created by the Liberals' silence on the matter by providing proper, fair and equitable legal protection centred on two main initiatives.
First, before the court approves a business's proposal for bankruptcy or restructuring, it must account for the total amount of special payments, as well as the amount needed for the liquidation of unfunded liabilities or solvency deficiencies of pension plans.
In plain language, the company's proposal must provide for a pension fund bailout if the court is convinced the company is capable of doing that. This rule would protect workers' pensions from being cut off, and we think it is crucial to protecting workers' savings.
Second, a reread of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act reveals six categories of creditors: first, creditors whose claims are deemed to be held in trust; second, unpaid suppliers; third, super-priority creditors; fourth, secured creditors; fifth, preferred creditors; and sixth, ordinary, unsecured creditors.
Bill C-253, which we are arguing in favour of today, would add other payments and indemnifications to these six categories of creditors. For example, special payments would get preferred claim status. The same goes for indemnification for beneficiaries of group insurance plans in which the company participated as an employer. The total amount of special payments, as well as any amount required to liquidate unfunded liabilities or solvency deficiencies, would also be secured claims against the bankrupt's assets as of the date of bankruptcy.
In keeping with our principles and our values, my Bloc Québécois colleagues and I support this bill, which has been introduced for the second time by my colleague from Manicouagan, and we support it for many reasons. First, the bill will recognize that a pension plan is a form of deferred wages, and second, it will cushion the financial blow to pensioners when their former employer declares bankruptcy. I was just talking about that a moment ago. With our bill, bankrupt companies or ones that are restructuring their operations will have to provide the total amount of any special payments and the total amount needed to liquidate their unfunded liabilities or solvency deficits in the pension plan fund. In this same spirit, this bill is beneficial because it will protect retired workers' group insurance plans. It will also compel businesses to better fund their pension plans. Finally, it will enable the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology to study this important social issue. That will surely please my Bloc Québécois colleague who sits on that committee, as well as all other members of the committee.
In closing, dear colleagues, if passed, our proposed Bill C-253 would protect workers and retirees so that they would never again lose the pensions that they earned after a lifetime of hard work. We find such injustices unacceptable. It is our moral duty to defend and respect active workers and retirees who, generation after generation, have slowly forged and are still forging the way of life we are fortunate to cherish today.
Ottawa's wait-and-see attitude and inaction have gone on long enough, and while this is the position that requires the least effort, it remains the least honourable. If we do nothing, history will judge our politicians by the way we let down the citizens, who spend more time looking backward than forward.