The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has collected more than 50,000 petitions from small business owners opposed to Canada Pension Plan (CPP)/Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) premium hikes being debated at next week’s finance ministers’ meeting in Vancouver, the association of small- and medium-sized businesses announced Thursday.
A further 40,000 petitions have been collected in opposition to the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP), the Toronto-based organization says.
Earlier this week, CFIB sent the petitions, along with letters to finance ministers in every province, urging them to reject CPP/QPP expansion. In order to move forward, the premium increase would require the support of at least two thirds of the provinces, representing at least two thirds of the population.
“The proposed CPP hike is a bad idea on almost every level,” says CFIB president Dan Kelly, in a statement. “Workers prefer other options. Business owners don’t want it. It doesn’t help seniors and it hurts young people and those with lower incomes. Who is this policy for?”
“For average workers, the CPP/QPP issue boils down to one question: with 60% of Canadians telling us that they can’t afford to save more, how will it help them to have governments take even more money out of their pockets today?” adds Kelly.
“We encourage governments to pursue other options, such as creating better voluntary options (e.g. Pooled Registered Pension Plans (PRPPs), voluntary CPP/QPP) or incentives to help Canadians save for their own retirement. Governments should also consider that the best way to help people save is to reduce government spending and taxes, allowing Canadians to contribute more of their own money towards their retirement,” Kelly says.
See: Ontario finance minister pushes for quick CPP reform deal
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