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| Over $ 500,000 in legal fees and a decade later? |
Why do Public Unions still show up and provide support for the Federal Liberals after Bill C-78 passed in 2000
Do they have amnesia?
On September 14, 1999, Parliament passed the Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act (Bill C-78), which introduced amendments to the laws covering the three pension plans, allowing the federal government to grab the $30.2-billion surplus. The federal government is exempted from the Pension Benefits Standards Act, which limits employer access to any surplus in federally registered pension plans. -Pension Surplus Grab
Why do Pension groups like ex-Nortel employees trust anything the Federal Liberals state on Pensions when the current leadership brag how the Chretien-Martin Liberal surplus?
When the Liberals made those compassionate decisions to fix the pensions was Canada in some global recession?
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| Jean Chretien is to blame for the fall of the Liberals and the election of one of the most right-wing prime ministers Canada has ever seen. |
Statement by the Honourable Paul Martin, Minister of Finance of Canada, to the Interim Committee of the International Monetary Fund, Washington, September 26, 1999 Economic Performance and Prospects in the Constituency
(a) CanadaDevelopments in the Canadian economy have also been more favourable than many expected a year ago. In large measure, this reflects the government's commitment to sound economic and financial policies—low and stable inflation and balanced budgets or better.
Overall economic growth in Canada moderated to 3.1 per cent in 1998, down from 4.0 per cent in 1997. Growth in Canada slowed significantly in the middle of 1998, owing in part to the global financial uncertainty and turmoil of the time. As the effects of this turmoil have passed, growth has strengthened, averaging an annual rate of 4.0 per cent over the last three quarters.
Growth in production has meant growth in jobs. More than 450,000 jobs were created in 1998, the strongest growth during any year since 1987. So far in 1999, a further 110,000 jobs have been created. The strong growth in employment has brought the unemployment rate down from near 10 per cent at the end of 1996 to 7.8 per cent in August 1999, near a 10-year low.
At the same time, inflation in Canada has remained subdued. Despite the depreciation of the Canadian dollar in 1998, consumer price inflation averaged 0.9 per cent in 1998, down from 1.6 per cent in 1997. Despite recent increases in oil prices, headline inflation in August was 2.1 per cent and core inflation was 1.6 per cent, well within the inflation control targets of 1 to 3 per cent.
Low inflation and the improvement in Canada's fiscal situation have provided the basis for low interest rates in Canada. Apart from the period of instability in international financial markets last fall, short- and long-term rates in Canada have been below corresponding rates in the United States for most of the last three years.
In the survey of private sector forecasts used in the February 1999 budget, private sector forecasters expected growth to average 2.0 per cent in 1999 and 2.5 per cent in 2000. The most recent consensus of private sector forecasters has real gross domestic product growth upgraded to 3.5 per cent in 1999 and 2.6 per cent in 2000. The most recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) Staff projections are consistent with the private sector consensus.
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| Ignatieff praises Jean and Paul for surplus. |
If we had low inflation, good growth projections, improving job numbers (7.8%) and a balanced budget why did the Liberal majority government enact and pass Bill C-78, was it mean-spirited or just ideological?
