To the Editor:
It might be understandable if a number of Canadians didn't appreciate Prime Minister Stephen Harper talking about reforming public sector pensions and Old Age Security (OAS) social assistance payments. After all, nobody likes the idea of their retirement plans changing.
This is likely true with Mr. Harper's musings coming on the heels of two reports on MP pensions.
Ultimately, Harper is quite right to tackle Canada's demographic dilemma: the tsunami of aging baby boomers does indeed threaten to swamp the national safety net.
By 2030, if something isn't done, Old Age Security payments are expected to balloon from $36 billion to $108 billion - that's quite a chunk of change when you consider that the entire federal budget is about $274 billion this year.
So how does the Prime Minister start tightening the tap on entitlements for the elderly, when taxpayers contributed $23.30 for every dollar put into the Parliamentary pension plan by MPs? Even Mr. Harper himself is in line for an annual pension payout of $223,517 if he packs it in at the end of his current term. Of course, the PM will only be 55 years old by then, and presumably, capable of doing something else to make ends meet. But if Harper were to find himself, retired with no other means of support, $223,517 does buy a lot of cat food and kerosene to make it through a chilly Calgary winter. It's a good thing - having studied piano rather than the guitar or the violin, the PM would face limited options as a street busker.
You can't defend these payments. And smart politicians are not even trying. Since the Canadian Taxpayers Federation published its report on MP pensions, we've heard some promising news from both sides of the House of Commons. It started with the Prime Minister's own words - Harper said in an interview that the issue of parliamentary pensions "will have to be looked at."
Canadians have been phoning, writing, and emailing their politicians in huge numbers, letting them know how they feel about platinum-plated MP pensions. With the next federal budget coming soon, taxpayers need to turn up the heat, and make sure the pork-laden MP pension plan is put on the chopping block, front and centre, with big a carving knife close at hand for Mr. Harper. It's the necessary first step in long, but ultimately needed, process.
Gregory Thomas, Canadian Taxpayer's Federation.
