October 4, 2016
Vancouver, BC: CARP members will be pleased to learn that the Province of British Columbia has confirmed their support of the agreement in principal to enhance the Canada Pension Plan, allowing all the provinces and the federal government to proceed with legislation enabling CPP enhancement.
Over the last week CARP members had engaged in an email writing campaign to BC Minister of Finance, Michael de Jong, asking him to support CPP enhancement without delay.
An agreement in principal was signed by the majority of provincial Ministers of Finance on June 20th, but in mid-July, Minister de Jong called for consultations with stakeholders in BC, before proceeding with ratification.
Today, the Government of British Columbia formalized their support of the agreement, citing strong support for CPP enhancement among the over 2000 comments received, with 65% supportive and 32% unsupportive. In contrast, over 90% of CARP members polled were supportive of CPP enhancement, even though they themselves would not benefit from the updated pension plan.
CARP COO & Vice President, Advocacy, Wanda Morris, who is currently in British Columbia meeting with volunteer Chapter leaders and government officials said, “Minister de Jong made the right decision to support CPP enhancement in June and we are glad that he has reiterated that support today, after hearing from British Columbians who are supportive of a strengthened national pension plan for Canadian workers.”
“Increases in CPP contributions from employees and employers are modest and affordable and will be phased in over a period of several years in the proposed plan, but the end result will be of significant benefit to future retirees and Canada will be a better country for it,” said Wade Poziomka, CARP Policy Director.
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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. www.carp.ca
