The Surrey Board of Trade, with support from the South Surrey & White Rock Chamber of Commerce, is calling on the federal government to “modernize and innovate” Canada’s pension plan for businesses and citizens and has secured some clout behind its call.
During the annual – this time, digital – Canadian Chamber of Commerce Convention held Monday, Oct. 26, the Surrey Board of trade won the support of 450 chambers of commerce and board of trades nation-wide to make the case.
“There are 10 million Canadian workers who are not members of a private sector pension plan,” Anita Huberman, CEO of the board, noted. “There is very clear evidence that there needs to be a re-charged pension plan that meets the demands of today’s socio-economic paradigm. Canada has suffered from stagnated innovation in its retirement income system.”
The board’s five-page policy document makes the claim that Canada’s current pension model “is dying and unable to account for the many employees due to the ineligibility for described benefit or described contribution.
“Additionally, the pensions are volatile and depend on market stability, which is not always the case,” the document reads. “This leads to uncertain and unproductive employees.”
It’s estimated that 10 million to 12 million Canadian workers don’t have pension plans other than the CPP.
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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