Kathleen Wynne Stands Up for Ontario's Middle Class

Takes on Harper Over Refusal to Act on Expanding Pension Plan


Saturday, May 3, 2014


Premier Kathleen Wynne is standing up for Ontario’s middle class against the Harper and Hudak Conservatives who refuse to take action to address pressing pension issues.

Experts agree that Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) benefits are not sufficient and too many people are facing a diminished quality of life in retirement. Despite this reality, the Harper Conservatives remain willfully negligent on this issue and refuse to address the inadequate CPP.

To address this very real challenge, Premier Kathleen Wynne is proposing a plan to support Ontarians in their retirement. A new Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP) would be cost-effective, responsible and help Ontario workers build a more secure retirement future.

Tim Hudak continues to embrace the Harper Conservative agenda by rejecting an important plan to provide Ontarians with the income security they deserve in retirement. 

Yesterday, in an unprecedented move, both Stephen Harper and federal finance minister Joe Oliver, went out of their way to engage themselves in the Ontario election and attack the Ontario Liberal plan for pensions.

Ontarians will choose between Premier Wynne’s pension plan and Tim Hudak and Stephen Harper's refusal to act, which is at odds with Ontario's interests.

 

Quote

“It is somewhere between offensive and inexplicable to ask the people who worked hard all their lives to be rewarded with retirement income that takes them out of the middle-class. That might be Stephen Harper’s way. That might be Tim Hudak’s way.  But it is not our way.  It is not the Ontario Liberal way.”

— Premier Kathleen Wynne

 

Quick Facts

  • Only 35 per cent of Ontarians have a workplace pension plan
  • The maximum benefit of the CPP is only $12,500 per year - the Ontario average is $6800
  • The proposed Ontario Retirement Pension Plan would require equal contributions shared between employers and employees, and could roughly double the retirement benefit received under the CPP alone
  • Initially, the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan would cover more than three million people in Ontario.

 

For further information –
Rebecca MacKenzie
416-992-9580