Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says she wants to have a discussion with Justin Trudeau about the CPP once he’s sworn in as prime minister.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says the first conversation she wants to have with Justin Trudeau once he's sworn in as prime minister will be about enhancing the Canada Pension Plan.
Wynne says her Liberal government will proceed with mandatory payroll deductions starting Jan. 1, 2017 for the new Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, which essentially mirrors the CPP for anyone who doesn't already have a workplace pension.
Outgoing Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the provincial pension a job killing payroll tax, and said he was "delighted" to block any federal assistance to set up or administer the Ontario plan.
Wynne says she doesn't expect that kind of attitude from a Trudeau government, and in fact hopes the new prime minister can help persuade other provinces to agree to increase deductions and benefits under the CPP.
She says it'll take a while to get other provinces on side with enhancing the CPP, but if there is such an agreement, Ontario wouldn't need to create its own pension.
But in the meantime, the province will proceed as if it has to set up and administer its own pension without any federal help, even though it could spend millions of dollars on an effort that could ultimately be scrapped.