Pension battle shapes up in Parliament
Tories’ planned cutbacks will hurt seniors, weren’t mentioned during election: Opposition
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Monday that his government will proceed with a contentious plan to cut the future costs of the public pension system, as opposition parties blasted the governing Tories for hiding their intentions during last year’s election campaign and turning against seniors now.
The issue was front and centre as Parliament resumed Monday after a six-week break. During a raucous question period, Harper’s Tories were accused by the NDP and Liberals of a variety of political sins — from deceiving Canadian voters to planning changes that would force impoverished senior citizens to rely on food banks and soup kitchens.
Moreover, opposition leaders said Harper lacks the mandate to embark on such a major shift in social policy.
“These cuts will hurt seniors, will hurt jobs and will hurt communities,” said interim NDP leader Nycole Turmel.
“It ’ s obscene and insulting for seniors. Instead of attacking poverty among seniors, the Conservatives are attacking seniors themselves.”
Harper and his ministers insisted that the cutbacks won’t affect current seniors, but said the forthcoming reforms must occur to ensure the pension system is affordable for future generations. And they shot back at their critics, accusing them of engaging in political “fearmongering.”
“The reality is that we are not cutting programs for our seniors,” said the prime minister.
However, Harper made it clear that this guarantee of protection won’t apply to the pension system for Canadians who become seniors in future years.
“Everybody understands that there are demographic realities that threaten the viability of these programs. Over the longer term, we will make sure that these programs are funded and viable for the future generations,” Harper said.
Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae told the Commons that during the election campaign leaders’ debate, Harper pledged to not reduce transfer payments to individual Canadians. As a result, the prime minister is actually breaking a campaign promise, said Rae.
“It’s the politics of deceit and of abandonment.”
Harper suggested this promise related just to the short-term goal of eliminating the deficit within a few years. Rae wasn’t buying that explanation.
“He didn’t just write this on the back of an envelope. This is something that’s been in the works that they’ve been talking about and planning for months and months and months. They must have known about it during the last election,” Rae later told reporters.
The exchanges in the Commons provided the first hint of how the fiery political debate over pension reform will evolve.
Harper used a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week to reveal his government is preparing “major transformations” to Canada in several areas — including public pensions.
The government later confirmed that the Old Age Security (OAS) system — with costs expected to soar to $108 billion in 2030 from $36.5 billion in 2010 — will be reformed.
The government has provided no details of what is to come, but it has been examining gradually raising the age Canadians can receive the OAS benefit to 67 from the current 65.
The government also said it’s willing to review Commons spending and lucrative MP pensions as it tightens the purse strings on Canadians. It is searching for billions of dollars in cuts as part of a sweeping spending review.
Government House leader Peter Van Loan said Monday the Conservatives, through the secretive, multiparty Board of Internal Economy, will search for savings on spending by the Commons and parliamentary committees.