Madam Speaker, I want to talk about the huge problems Bill C-2 will create. This legislation reforms the Canada pension plan, without taking into consideration the needs and the interests of all Canadians. The Liberals would rather protect the wallets of the Toronto brokers and go after the most disadvantaged segments of our society.
The proposals put forward have a disproportionate impact on women, the disabled and the low income Canadians. What is the government trying to do? Is it trying to compete against the United States to see who can best abuse the disadvantaged citizens in their respective countries?
Bill C-2 will make it even tougher to get disability benefits. It is bad enough that these Canadians have to overcome their physical disabilities, but now the government wants to reduce the number of individuals who receive these benefits.
It is bad enough that the government is attacking people with disabilities by reducing the number of people who will receive benefits. Now it has created a category of storm troopers who will harass the disabled to make sure they are worthy of their benefits. Does this government have no shame?
Clauses 69, 87 and 107 of the bill must be deleted so that people living with a disability can do so with dignity and without being harassed by investigators. Resources would be much better spent by increasing benefits and the number of beneficiaries.
Women will also be negatively affected by Bill C-2. It is understood that because women leave the workforce to take care of loved ones, live longer and have fewer wages than men, women receive smaller pensions. On average, women draw CPP pensions worth only 39% of an already low maximum benefit and only 57% of average benefits drawn by men. The government had an opportunity with this legislation to rectify these imbalances, but what did it do? It made the situation of women even more difficult.
One of the most terrible things about this bill is that the amount of the basic annual exemption is no longer indexed. That means the poorest in our society will pay more, but the richest will pay less as inflation rises. Women in particular are penalized, because they are over-represented in the low income worker category. We must ensure that subclause 61(2) is deleted.
Women are also penalized under clause 76, which introduces a new calculation for disability, survivor and retirement pensions combined. Women often live longer than their spouses, and this clause will go after the already modest income they apply for. Clause 76 must be deleted to ensure that the women and men affected are not further penalized.
I have to also add it is not a surprise that women are attacked since they are attacked in every way, if we look at the EI where women have been affected and also the way that the government is abusing its power by not paying the pay equity it owes to women.
Bill C-2 contains a number of problems, because according to the government's philosophy the economy is more important than people. The Canada pension plan looks after workers. Employers and employees contribute to it to ensure that Canadian workers enjoy a comfortable retirement. So would it not make sense for the government to listen to workers in this country and come up with a system that means more money for them? This would be the logical thing to do, but Liberal logic is not always comprehensible.
The Liberals will argue that they consulted provincial governments, but I never saw Franck McKenna protect the interests of New Brunswick workers. Also, union representatives came before the committee reviewing this bill to voice their opposition to the bill. Did anyone listen to them? Of course not.
This government made it very clear that it wants to protect the interests of the rich rather than those of Canadian workers. If the Liberals were really concerned about the situation of workers, they would reduce unemployment.
Quite simply, the larger the number of workers contributing to the Canada pension plan, the better it is for the system. If the Liberals really take the interests of all Canadians to heart, they will deliver on their promises and create the jobs so desperately needed by the unemployed.
The Liberals could ensure that the money paid into the Canada pension plan is reinvested in Canada. The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is a good example, as funds are reinvested to help the Quebec economy prosper.
Why does this government not want to give us any assurances that the Canada pension plan will be used for the benefit of companies here in Canada? Is it afraid of seeing the unemployment rate fall under 9%?
It is clear, however, that job creation is not on the Liberal agenda. They would rather take the Canada pension plan and hand it over to Bay Street brokers to make even more money off it.
The NDP asks that a panel of experts oversee the activities of the board of directors. If this government is well-intentioned, it should not be afraid to have a panel of experts ensuring that friends of the Liberal Party act properly. If it is necessary to monitor people with disabilities who make, at best, slightly more than $800, it is only logical to want to monitor those who will be making millions.
I went through a number of problems Bill C-2 will cause. Simply put, this Canada pension plan reform will see retired Canadians become poorer and poorer. Over the past ten years, Canada has taken major steps to reduce poverty among seniors.
This bill will take us back to a time when seniors were even more vulnerable than they are today. We must see to it that this does not happen and that all Canadian workers can rely on a pension that will allow them to live with dignity.
