OFL President Sid Ryan Available to Media Before and After Ontario's Kick-Off Pension Consultation in Kingston

KINGSTON, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jan. 22, 2015) - Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) President Sid Ryan will be available to media this Thursday immediately before and after the Ontario Government's Kingston consultation on the proposed Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP). Associate Minister of Finance Mitzie Hunter has scheduled eight public consultations on the implementation of a made-in-Ontario pension plan and the OFL is signaling its support for the process by presenting the labour movement's pension priorities at the first consultation this Thursday.

Interviews can be scheduled for any time before or after the consultation session, which runs from 10:00 am to Noon.

"Despite overwhelming public support and years of lobbying from labour unions and provincial governments, the Harper Government has shut down hopes of an expanded CPP as long as he is in office," said OFL President Sid Ryan. "This is why the OFL stands firmly behind the plan for an Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, but the Ontario government has one shot to get it right and the labour movement is here to help them do that."

QUICK FACTS ON RETIREMENT INSECURITY

• 2/3 of Ontario workers do not have a workplace pension;
• 3/4 of private sector workers in Ontario do not have a workplace pension;
• 10% of Ontarians age 65 and over live in poverty;
• The average Ontario retiree receives a meager $6,800 a year from the CPP;
• Pensioners make up more than 7% of Ontario food bank recipients; and
• The average annual income of 2/3 of elderly Canadians is $25,000, compared to an average Canadian wage of $47,200.

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. For information, visit www.OFL.ca and follow the OFL on Facebook and Twitter: @OFLabour.