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Chamber opposes Ontario Retirement Pension Plan

The implementation of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan could have a negative impact on Sudbury's economy, says the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce.
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The Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce has joined a coalition of nearly 50 chambers of commerce across Ontario to oppose the province's proposed Ontario Retirement Pension Plan. File photo.
The implementation of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan could have a negative impact on Sudbury's economy, says the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce.

A survey of businesses by the chamber found that 44 per cent of respondents would reduce their current payroll or hire fewer employees in the future due to the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan.

Twenty-six per cent of respondents said they would be able to shoulder the financial burden tied to the pension plan.

The Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, which aims to boost Ontarians’ retirement savings, will require employers to match employee contributions to the new plan.

Employers that provide defined benefit pension plans will be exempt from these contributions, but the majority of employers in Ontario will have to pay into the plan, regardless of the retirement savings plans they currently provide to their employees, says the chamber.

The Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce has joined a coalition of nearly 50 chambers of commerce to oppose the pension plan.

“Businesses consistently tell us that they cannot afford this new, mandatory cost on top of rising electricity prices and other cost pressures,” said Allan O’Dette, president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, in a press release.

“To provide clarity to the business community and the public around the potential impact on jobs, investment, and the broader economy, the government must conduct a comprehensive and publicly available economic analysis of the new pension plan before it moves forward with implementation.”

The coalition of chambers of commerce said in a submission to the province the vast majority of Canadians are on track to maintain their standard of living in retirement and that the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan will punish employers and employees who are already contributing to their secure retirement future through non-defined benefit workplace retirement savings plans.

“Our economy is still in a state of recovery,” said Geoff Jeffery, board chair with Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, in a press release.

“The province is facing a large deficit and growing debt, and employers are already confronted with rising costs including soaring electricity prices and high WSIB (Workers Safety Insurance Board) premiums, as well as uncompetitive regulatory burdens. This is not the time to introduce a new cost of doing business.”

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