Quebec passes pension reform bill

Quebec’s National Assembly passed a bill into law on Thursday that will reform the province’s municipal pensions.

The Liberals and the Coalition Avenir Québec voted in favour of Bill 3, while the Parti Québécois (PQ) and the Québec solidaire voted against.

Under the law, workers will need to contribute more to help offset a $3.9-billion pension fund deficit.

Originally, the bill would have forced both the employer and the employee to make equal contributions to the plan and to the deficit. Some municipalities contribute up to 70%, while employees contribute the rest.

But the bill was amended last week, which would allow both sides to negotiate a range how much would go toward the deficit.

Workers would need to contribute between 45% and 50% toward the pension deficit, and municipalities would pay 50% to 55%. If they can’t reach an agreement, then they’d both have to make equal contributions.

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