MEDIA ADVISORY
October 23, 2013
Toronto, ON: Upping the ante: the two strongest champions of CPP reform will join forces with Canada’s largest advocacy organization to push for change at the upcoming Finance ministers’ meetings starting next week.
PEI Finance Minister, Wes Sheridan, and Ontario Finance Minister, Charles Sousa, will address the CARP annual meeting and Chapter Congress tomorrow ahead of the upcoming meetings of Finance ministers –and well ahead of the FTP meeting in December.
Minister Sheridan has a pivotal role – he sits on the pensions working committee of the Federal, Territorial and Provincial Finance Ministers and recently released his proposal for a modest CPP enhancement that increases benefits and coverage. Ontario’s Finance Minister has proposed an Ontario Pension Plan modeled on the CPP. With the largest provincial population, Ontario carries significant weight at the FTP table.
Three years after a modest CPP enhancement was first proposed by the FTP Finance Ministers, Minister Sheridan’s is the first concrete proposal made public and there may be a sufficient consensus of his provincial counterparts to amend the CPP. Ontario’s proposal for an Ontario plan is an important fall back if the FTP group once again fails to proceed. The federal government is the major holdout.
Experts and editorials have supported this change. What is needed is political will. That’s where CARP members come in.
Ministers Sheridan and Sousa will be speaking to the most politically engaged group on an issue that has been their highest priority – they will take the message back to their respective provinces and pressure their own finance ministers as well as write to Minister Flaherty and Prime Minister Harper.
CARP brings together the chairs of its local chapters across the country for the annual event. This year 52 chapter chairs from Victoria to St John’s and all points in between will be attending. They will explore with Ministers Sheridan and Sousa what role they can play to make CPP enhancement happen.
| EVENT | Town Hall session on CPP Enhancement headlined by PEI Finance Minister Wes Sheridan, joined by Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa |
| DATE | Thursday, October 24, 2013 |
| TIME
|
2:00 PM Town Hall session – open to Media
3:00 PM –GROUP PHOTO and MEDIA AVAILABILITY |
| PLACE | 70 Jefferson Avenue, Toronto Ontario – in Liberty Village https://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&tab=il
Parking available |
| CONTACT | Sarah Park [email protected] 416.607.2471
416.569.0981
|
Recent coverage of CPP enhancement proposals and CARP open letter:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/editorials/bigger-cpp-would-be-better/article14939712/
http://www.carp.ca/2013/10/04/proposed-changes-to-cpp-spur-momentum-for-pension-reform/
http://www.carp.ca/2013/10/16/throne-speech-missed-opportunity-to-act-on-retirement-security-carp/
http://www.zoomerradio.ca/news/latest-news/ontario-pension-plan-floated-at-queens-park/
CARP is a national, non-partisan, non-profit organization committed to advocating for a New Vision of Aging for Canada, social change that will bring financial security, equitable access to health care and freedom from discrimination. CARP seeks to ensure that the marketplace serves the needs and expectations of our generation and provides value-added benefits, products and services to our members. Through our network of chapters across Canada, CARP is dedicated to building a sense of community and shared values among our members in support of CARP’s mission.
For further information, please contact:
Sarah Park 416.607.2471
Media Relations, Policy Researcher and Coordinator
[email protected]
Michael Nicin 416.607.2479
Director of Policy
[email protected]
