Make Canadians public servants pay more for their pensions

I'm going out on a limb here in agreeing with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty about rethinking pension contributions in the public service of Canada.

Public servants in this country are well paid and have one of the richest pension plans in the country. The Canadian public service pension plan is the envy of the Canadians served by those who toil for the Queen, and bureaucrats have had a pretty smooth ride. If they want to keep their pensions, they should pay more for them.

I don't think asking them to pay 50 percent is out of the question.

At a time when many Canadians don't have pensions, and others have watched while their plans have gone bust thanks to greedy and irresponsible employers, it is not a lot to ask government employers to pony up and inject more into the system.

The argument that the government will lose the "best and the brightest" is ridiculous. If these brainiacs went looking, they would find that the private sector a) doesn't hire that many brainiacs b) doesn't pay brainiacs any more than the rest of their workforce.

I also think the government should ban public servants from double dipping. Most retired bureaucrats I know simply take their pensions then re-up and get hired back by the government for more than $500 per day. A lot of the lesser lights undercut the rates of legitimate consultants by reducing their per diem to 1978 levels and, as a result, make it difficult for small businesses to make a decent wage.

There is a lot rotten in the public service of Canada.

If the government is intending on fixing it, why not look at other employment issues as well?

Comments

Ashley Simpson: Don't Let Her Die in Vain

Six years ago, I was combing through my Facebook and I saw post from my cousin Julie Major. Her brother and his wife were frantically looking for their daughter Ashley who just days before had Facetimed her mom saying she was planning to return to her home in Niagara. Ashley never made it home. She was murdered in cold blood in her home in Salmon Arm then buried in a nearby field. It would be five and a half years before her body was located, and her boyfriend was charged with second degree murder. Today, Ashley's urn has a sacred spot in her parents' home, and Derek Favell is in jail awaiting trial by judge and jury. The trial is expected to go into next year sometime. This has been an agonizing journey for Ashley's friends and family. The pain has never stopped, and the wounds are broken open every time the family has to sit through a series of pre-trial proceedings. Fortunately, this ordeal will end but the pain will never wane for the people, including me, who have b...

Ashley Simpson: A Father Remembers

I have asked Ashley Simpson's family and friends to give us a glimpse into the life she lived before going missing nearly a month ago. Here is how her father John remembers his sweet girl. Ashley was a treat when she came into this world, a smashing 9lbs 8 ounces with a head full of hair and nails that needed to be clipped. She has made many friends in her journey of life and continues to make them as we speak. She has made this world a better place by her love of mankind and this place we call Earth; unfortunately this life she has lived hasn't been the best for her. She has suffered through unbearable pain and suffering through her menstrual cycles. She has cysts on her ovaries that make those 10 days a living hell. She had one of her ovaries removed when she was just 14; the other they won't take out till she is 40 or older. Years of hell for my Ashley. I so feel her pain every month but she doesn't quit, doesn't give in. That'...

What Bell isn't telling you about Fibe TV

Update: This week, we switched back to Rogers after spending far too long using Bell's crappy television service. For those with Bell, read and weep. For those considering Bell, think twice even if you hate Rogers. RS I've always been an early technology adapter. I had a Betamax. That tells you everything (if you're over 50 at least). My first computer was a "Portable". It weighed 40 pounds and I had to lug it around town on a gurney. I've been through probably 15 computers in my lifetime. Apple is the best. It's also too expensive so I have a piece of shit HP, the one I'm writing this blog on. I've had cable, internet and now Netflix. American Netflix . That's how far ahead of the curve I am. I get all the newspapers for free. How? I disabled my cookies so they can't track me when I'm on the newspaper sites. Even the New York Times hasn't cottoned on to that trick. Hahaha. That will be a fifty buck consulting fee. Bein...

Rose's Cantina

Search This Blog