Ontario spent $70-million to create provincial pension plan

theglobeandmail.com
July 28, 2016

Ontario spent $70 million preparing to create a provincial pension plan that won’t be needed because Ottawa and the other provinces agreed to enhance the CPP.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa says over $2 million will go for severance for the top six executives at the corporation the province set up for the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan.

Another $1.68 million in severance will go to 27 employees at the pension corporation, which will be wound down because of a June agreement to increase deductions and benefits under the Canada Pension Plan.

Sousa says Ontario’s first choice was always to enhance the CPP, but it proceeded with the provincial plan in case other provinces or the federal government continued to block a national agreement.

Critics of CPP enhancement warn that imposing additional contributions on workers and employers will hurt the economy, with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business predicting it will be “devastating” for small companies.

Ontario is confident the CPP deal will proceed, even though British Columbia decided not to ratify the agreement in principle by July 15 as planned, and said it needed more time to get public feedback on the enhancements.