Jack Layton wants provincial premiers onside as his New Democrats use their new-found status in Parliament to push for strengthened public pensions.
The newly minted leader of Canada’s official opposition said in his first speech that the NDP will tackle the “looming retirement security crisis” when Parliament resumes.
“Regardless of which party you represent,” he said, “when it comes to strengthening pensions, you have an ally in Ottawa.”
He told reporters later that his strategy for improving the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) will be to rally support from policy-makers, like the premiers, and the grassroots.
“The first thing is to work with people across the country to put pressure on the Stephen Harper government when they’re not doing the right thing,” said Layton.
Layton said pension reform is part of his party’s commitment to have the government address the concerns of middle-class families and seniors.
“When Canadians across the country and other leaders—for example, provincial premiers—are pushing for that kind of change at the same time as we are in the House of Commons and across the country, you can make governments move. We’ve seen this before.”
Layton was evasive when asked how he’d get his new Quebec caucus to sell his pension proposal there, since the province has been reluctant to agree to an expansion of the Quebec Pension Plan.
“We’re very optimistic that a way can be developed to have both of those pension plans improved, working in a very collaborative fashion,” he replied, noting that he believed Quebecers backed his party so strongly in the election because action on pensions was a key plank.
While the NDP favours an expansion of the CPP so that benefits eventually double, the Conservatives prefer a private sector solution that would relax rules for financial institutions, allowing them to offer more options at affordable rates—especially to Canadians who are not covered by workplace pensions right now.