Conservative politicians certainly know how to take a mile when you give them an inch. Some Conservatives, including B.C. Southern Interior candidate Stephen Hill, who was quoted in this newspaper, are saying that the Canadian Labour Congress gave full support to the 2011 federal budget. That’s simply not the case.
The CLC thought some measures were helpful to working people and the poorest seniors – such as an extension of employment insurance work sharing, and an increase in the Guaranteed Income Supplement. But GIS is not a solution to the looming retirement security crisis.
While we noted the government’s commitment to pursue talks with the provinces on expanding the Canada Pension Plan, we demanded more – a firm commitment and a time line to implement an expanded CPP.
Translating that into fully supporting the Conservative budget takes some nerve, a trait that many Conservative politicians seem to have in abundance. By those standards, we look forward to Conservative candidates saying the Canadian Federation of Independent Business supports expanding the Canada Pension Plan, since they too expressed support of some measures in the Finance Minister’s budget.
Ken Georgetti
President
Canadian Labour Congress