Finance committee  I don't have the reference. I'll provide it to the committee. The IMF study shows generally what discretionary cuts in public expenditure mean for jobs and growth. They also provide estimates of the effects of projected changes in government spending, which they do on an all-gove

Finance committee  But I'll be pleased to provide those.

Finance committee  But I think it's fair to say that they see a negative impact on growth and they see Canadian policy overall having that influence.

Finance committee  I'll send that.

Finance committee  I think the two major virtues of expanding the Canada Pension Plan are that there would be an increased employer contribution as well as an increased employee contribution; it would be mandatory on both sides. I think there is a lot of evidence that if you leave it to individuals

Finance committee  Briefly, I guess there's been a debate amongst economists about the effects of public spending cuts on growth and job creation. The IMF did put out a major study, and they've clearly come down on the side of those who argue that spending cuts will weigh on a recovery in a slow ec

Finance committee  Thank you, Chair. I'll attempt to be brief. The 2012 budget is being developed against the backdrop of a very tentative and uncertain recovery globally and here in Canada. In our view, there's a real danger of rising unemployment. The International Monetary Fund has just forecas

Finance committee  There's certainly no doubt that compared to previous recessions, the proportion of unemployed workers in this recession qualifying for benefits was much lower. Actually, you understated the gravity of this. It is 45% of the unemployed today, as we speak, who are collecting benefi

Finance committee  I'll let Mr. Sanger jump in as well. I think the fact that ministers are working on more than one strand is certainly appreciated. Our priority is definitely expansion of the Canada Pension Plan. I think that still leaves room for private pension arrangements. There's no doubt t

Finance committee  I'll let Mr. Sanger respond to it.

Finance committee  We've certainly supported the current provisions. I don't think we've had a chance to seriously reflect on your proposal and to discuss it, so it would be premature to comment on it. I certainly don't want to be critical of it per se, but we need to discuss it.

Finance committee  To make sure we're not double counting, CUPE's 600,000 members are affiliated to the Canadian Labour Congress, so between us we're speaking...we generally see eye to eye on most major policy issues. With respect to the guaranteed income supplement, I think there are two things t

Finance committee  Well, I agree with the general thrust of your comments. On the pension issue, I'd point out that the CPP expansion proposal wouldn't in fact involve any expenditure of government funds since the contributions would come from workers and employers in return for benefits. I gue

Finance committee  We haven't had a chance to review those proposals and details. I think we need to consider them.

Finance committee  Apologies from our president, Ken Georgetti. We had a change of time. Thank you for listening to us. I think our brief was circulated earlier. It was prepared some time ago, so I'll just provide a bit of updating. There are really three key issues that we'd identify for action