Industry committee  The bill seemed to be on the right track, but I think the discussions are going to continue. There are a lot of things I am having trouble understanding; it is what I call “proceduritis”, in my own jargon. Nonetheless, let us keep moving forward. I ask that all parliamentarians

Industry committee  This amounts to taking money out of our pensioners' pockets and redistributing it to shareholders, who are well off, for the most part. I would come back to my initial proposal. First, Bill C‑253 has to be passed. In addition, the provinces have to ensure that pension funds are

Industry committee  We believe that the solution is not necessarily to have a system like the one in Ontario. Rather, legislation that requires employers to fund their pension funds should be passed. Earlier, the example of Sears was cited. The shareholders were paid $500 million, while the pension

Industry committee  Thank you for the question. I would say that this is not the time to niggle or fret over minor problems; it is time to move forward. The bill is not perfect, but I think we have momentum and we have a duty, as a society, to proceed quickly and protect the most vulnerable people

Industry committee  I will talk about priority rather than a solution. Do we prefer to prioritize the most vulnerable people in our society, like seniors who have worked for 30 or 40 or 50 years, or workers my age, who may still be able to find another job and continue to live decently? Personally,

Industry committee  I have a suggestion to make. Given that the United Steelworkers is a member of the Canadian Labour Congress, I can answer that question. Yes, the provinces can do things. In Quebec, for example, we have the Supplemental Pension Plans Act, which requires that companies fund their

Industry committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Duvall. We are both former Stelco employees. I know the bill is not perfect, but there is a sense of urgency during this pandemic. We have to take the opportunity offered by the present circumstances. We must not get bogged down in minor details.

Industry committee  I am happy to see this consensus. I also think the time is right. Everyone has softened their position a bit. I am pleased to see that Mr. Poilievre seems to support the bill. I think that parliamentarians, together, can set politics aside to move forward on this issue once and f

Industry committee  We have to acknowledge that the government has done a remarkable job to support the Canadian economy, particularly with the CERB and the Canada emergency wage subsidy. But all good things come to an end. I believe that when these assistance measures end, Canadian businesses are g

Industry committee  Thank you, Mr. Lemire. I think there will be no impact on Canadian taxpayers. Bill C‑253 would be zero cost to the government, since we are not asking that pension plans be financed. As my colleague Nicolas Lapierre said, this bill will even help companies to recover. When a b

Industry committee  Workers, that is one thing. Take me, for example. I am 43 years old and I work for the United Steelworkers. If the union declared bankruptcy tomorrow morning, a portion of the pension benefits I would be paid later would be reduced. However, at 43, I would be able to find a new j

Industry committee  Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I would like to point out that we represent 225,000 workers all across Canada, of whom 60,000 are in Quebec. Pension plans are a subject of great importance to the Steelworkers. I would also like to thank all of the parliamentarians we have met

Human Resources committee  Yes, we certainly expect to see bankruptcies caused by the pandemic. In 2020, it's inconceivable that, in Canada, the interests of banks and insurance companies take precedence over the interests of retirees. We need only look to the income tax returns retirees file every year,

Human Resources committee  Some provinces have special funds, but not Quebec. One thing that would help all Canadians would be to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. That would be quick and easy. It's the only way to protect affected pensioners in the short term. In normal times, businesses go bankru

Human Resources committee  I'll start with the hotel, restaurant and tourism sectors. It is definitely essential, in our view, to protect those workers. Even though many of them aren't seasonal workers, the summer months account for the bulk of their hours to qualify for employment insurance. As everyone k