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September 26th, 2018

NDP Tables Bill to Protect Nuclear Workers' Pensions

NDP MP Daniel Blaikie alongside representatives of the Canadian Alliance of Nuclear Workers, is taking action to protect the pensions of employees at the Canada Nuclear Laboratories

OTTAWA – Today, NDP MP Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona), alongside representatives of the Canadian Alliance of Nuclear Workers, is taking action to protect the pensions of employees at the Canada Nuclear Laboratories (CNL).

Blaikie’s bill would extend the grace period under which CNL employees continued to contribute to the Public Service Pension Plan. The NDP is calling on the government to immediately adopt the provisions of the bill to buy time while a more permanent solution is developed.
“For a long time, the Liberals told these workers that a fair and lasting solution was possible to keep them in their pension plan. Then, all of a sudden, they said the legislation tied their hands and there was nothing they could do,” said Blaikie. “My bill proves that they have options and can keep workers in the plan while they develop a permanent solution.”
The problem stems from a “Government-Owned Contractor-Operated” (GoCo) model implemented in 2015, which included the loss of the pension plan for existing employees after a three-year period, ending on September 12, 2018. Despite being alerted of the situation early in their mandate, the Liberal government let the deadline pass without finding a solution for these workers and their families.
“Liberals talk a good game about the middle-class. This is an opportunity to walk the walk and actually do something to protect the retirement of thousands of hardworking Canadians,” said Blaikie. “So far, they’ve taken a pass. My bill gives them one last chance to do right by these workers.”