Ontario must hold off on ORPP and lead on CPP expansion instead

Canada’s largest labour organization wants the Ontario government to hold off on implementing the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan and take the lead on finding a pan-Canadian solution to the looming retirement security crisis instead.

“We hope Premier Wynne will consider putting the Ontario-only plan on hold and instead play a leadership role with the federal government, other provinces and the territories to push for a universal, pan-Canadian expansion of CPP benefits,” said Yussuff.

For years, the Ontario government pushed the federal government to allow finance ministers to explore CPP enhancement. That went nowhere with a Conservative government in place, but the new Liberal federal government campaigned on a promise to work with the provinces and territories on CPP enhancement.

“Premier Wynne’s majority mandate in 2014 was in no small measure due to her government’s promise to take action on widespread retirement insecurity. We commended the government then for its commitment to find a solution to this crisis, and we do now,” said Yussuff.

“Now we have a real opportunity to do what’s right for all Canadians instead of ending up with a patchwork approach that’s inefficient and leaves too many behind, and I believe Premier Wynne is well-placed to make that happen,” said Yussuff.

In December, finance ministers committed to working through the options to improve CPP benefits for the millions of Canadians who depend on it, but shied away from announcing any concrete plans.

Today, nearly two in three working Canadians – that’s 11 million workers – have no workplace pension plan.

Read more on the need for CPP expansion.