Jack Layton spoke, so did Gilles Duceppe and Michael Ignatieff. The Conservatives hid in the house suggesting that the mess was the Province’s area. I think that’s called passing the buck.
And judging from the video footage there are a lot of voters out there who won’t ever vote Conservative again. Can’t blame them either when they are about lose large chunks of their pension and disability benefits.
And this is the canary in the coal mine as many pension funds are underfunded and not protected.
So was this just political grand standing or are our MP’s going to come to the table and do something to protect Canadians, (workers as opposed to owners and shareholders).
L I N K “Pensions are a provincial responsibility in Canada. But bankruptcy laws are federal, and the protesters say their pension and disability payments are not protected under the current legislation.
Ignatieff pledged to work with the group to change federal bankruptcy laws to “make sure this kind of thing never happens again to another Canadian.”
L I N K “You gotta know that I’m hearing you loud and clear — the Bankruptcy Act must be changed,” Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff told Nortel pensioners at a rally on Parliament Hill Wednesday.
“I stand to live in my car if nothing’s done,” Marin said, tears welling up in her eyes as other former employees shouted and cheered behind her, waving placards with slogans such as “Hands off our pensions” and “MPs fiddle while pensioners get burned.”
“I’m sick; I’m tired; I’m exhausted,” she said. “I can’t take care of myself, because I’m trying to save my life.”
Unlike bondholders and other creditors who chose to make investments and who might have had their investments insured, she and other former employees have no recourse.
“And I don’t see anything being done there,” Marin said. “I don’t see my prime minister here. Where the hell is he?”
What do you think Cornwall?
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What is Conservatives’ message? Seniors should just go away quietly and die because we don’t give a damn. We only care for the rich.
That would seem to be your answer Ken. Income Trusts; turning Veteran’s Hospitals over to Quebec, and selling out the country and environment to Big Oil interests pretty much sums up the Harper Government. I’m sure stealing candy from babies is in there somewhere too…..
In the same way that “necessity” sparks invention, it is only “need” that will motivate some people to action.
And in the case of pensions, what need is there for an MP or a political party to step up and seize corporations by their “tenders”, and make them fulfil their obligations to employees?
MP’s have a solid gold pension. It’s theirs for the taking after only 6 years of warming a seat in Ottawa. And it’s guaranteed by an employer that will print money to pay it if necessary. And with the corporate lobbying positions that await them, or the plum patronage appointments… what would move a government MP to consider the working stiff?
It’s little wonder that the first in line for bailouts were corporations and their fat boards. The working stiffs that were promised pensions and paid into them have been defrauded.
That our parliamentarians permit this fraud, is proof plain… that they themselves are frauds.
As stated in your article( Is this political grand standing or are the MP’s going to come to the table and do something to protect the Canadian worker?).I believe it is grand standing, the pension issue could have been brought to the fore front earlier in the year when there was talk of bringing down the government.
As Mr. Trent Tulip said in his comment MP’s have a solid gold pension. Examlpe $25000 min/year after 6 years.For the average Nortel employee this would take 30-40 years to reach this level.One has to ask would 74 MP’s put thier pensions at risk in order to bring down the government over this issue before July 2010?
It will be a sad day if the Canadian government does not act on this issue, and ask Canadian pensioners loosing 30-40% of thier pension to pay MP’s pensions.
Maybe we need to have a vote out the incumbent movement in the next election where we get people to vote for anyone but the sitting MP. When you look at some of the decisions made by MP, especially our own, you have to ask who in the public they really “serve”?