Oswald Proposes Provincial Pension Plan

With a nod to the NDP of days gone by and the efforts of the current premier, NDP leadership candidate Theresa Oswald announced Sunday a provincial pension plan is the way to a secure future for senior Manitobans.

 

Oswald praised the past role of the Canada Pension Plan, the NDP politicians who were proponents of it 50 years ago and NDP Premier Greg Selinger for advocating at the national level for a better CPP program, but she said CPP "is not cutting it anymore."

"Over the years we all know that the CPP has helped millions of Canadians, this is true; helped them retire with dignity and with a level of income that has let them enjoy their retirement as they should, to have financial security and to enjoy a very good quality of life," Oswald said.

"But we also know CPP is not cutting it anymore. Benefits have not kept pace with need, and fewer and fewer families are saving enough to fund their retirement. Less than half of Manitobans have access to a pension plan through their work."

Oswald held Sunday’s news conference at the River Heights home of Leslie Orlikow, the daughter of longtime NDP MP David Orlikow.

"CPP has helped a lot of people retire with dignity, which is exactly why Stanley Knowles and my father fought so hard for it over fifty years ago," Leslie said in a statement. "My husband and I are turnning 66 in a few months and we can’t afford to retire, but that’s not what keeps me up an night. What keeps me up is thinking about my 38-year-old daughter and her parnter who have good jobs but don’t have workplace pensions. Today’s CPP just won’t be enough for them, but Theresa’s pension plan would be a major step forward."

Oswald did not provide details of what a provincial pension plan would look like in Manitoba as she noted that "Manitobans would be extensivley consulted on the details of the plan."

She noted the provincial pension plan in Manitoba would be paid for through contributions from employers and employees, similar to the CPP and Ontario’s new provincial pension plan.

Oswald said the provincial pension plan she would put in place in Manitoba, if she is elected premier, would require mandatory participation for those who do not have pension plans with their workplaces.

"Everyone wants to have a secure retirement and part of having a secure retirement is having a strong pension," Oswald said. "Each and every one of these workers have a right, I believe, to retire with dignity. That particular value is a value that New Democrats have always held very dear."

The Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, propsed for introduction in 2017, would require workers and employers to each pay up to $1,600 per person per year.

Oswald is in the running for the NDP leadership with Selinger and Steve Ashton. The NDP’s annual convention, at which the new leader will be chosen, is set for March 8.