Canada’s largest private-sector union, Unifor, has backed the NDP’s decision to support expanding the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).
“Dignity in retirement begins with a secure and sufficient pension,” says in a press release Jerry Dias, Unifor’s national president. “Unifor has consistently supported expanding the CPP to help more Canadians achieve that goal, and is glad to see the NDP do the same.”
Read: Voluntary CPP expansion wouldn’t change the way Canadians save
Earlier this week on the campaign trail, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said an NDP government would convene a meeting of Premiers within six months of being elected to work out a timetable for boosting the CPP.
He said an NDP government would also reverse the Conservative party’s plan to raise the eligibility age for Old Age Security benefits from 65 to 67.
Read: Supplemental CPP unnecessary: IIAC
The Tories have rejected calls for mandatory CPP expansion. Instead, they recently proposed a plan for a voluntary expansion. However, the Canadian Union of Public Employees and other observers have dismissed the proposal as electioneering, calling it unfeasible. They say it would require, among other things, setting up a new and costly administration system.
Dias doesn’t see a voluntary expansion as feasible either. “Voluntary plans don’t help those who need help most. Only a universal and mandatory pension plan can ensure a decent retirement income for Canadians.”