https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/cupe-strike-new-brunswick-1.6238217
Striking workers heckle, jeer as premier addresses CUPE news conference
Government schedules its own news conference on dispute for 2:45 p.m.
![](https://liveimages.cbc.ca/0uArSMQDavZWVywdJeK4/thumbnail.jpeg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs crashed a news conference by the Canadian Union of Public Employees on Friday morning as efforts to end a week-old strike by public-sector workers appeared to go off the rails.
CUPE officials were laying out a counter-proposal they made to the government overnight when the premier appeared at the news conference outside the legislature in Fredericton.
"That's not how bargaining works," CUPE New Brunswick president Stephen Drost told reporters later, though Drost had challenged Higgs to "come out right now and … settle this" just before the premier's arrival.
Higgs listened to Drost outline Thursday's discussions for several minutes before the union offered him its microphone to address the crowd.
Higgs then laid out his position, defending pension changes in the province's offer, and getting into back-and-forth debates with some of the union leaders and with striking workers in the crowd.
Canadian
Union of Public Employees president Steve Drost handed the microphone
to Premier Blaine Higgs at a union news conference Friday in
Fredericton. Higgs defended the pension changes in the province's offer
the night before, and said health-care workers need to go back to work. (CBC)
"No one loses anything in their current plans," he said, trying to explain details of the province's proposal on pensions for two CUPE locals not part of the existing shared-risk plan.
He said health-care workers need to come back to work, which was met with jeers from the crowd.
Eventually, he asked for a more orderly question-and-answer format. At that point, CUPE asked for its microphone back and the premier left.
The dramatic and unconventional confrontation took place just an hour after Higgs told the legislature that CUPE had promised after a marathon meeting Thursday to recommend a government offer to its members.
The first of more than 20,000 CUPE members began walking off the job last Friday morning after contract negotiations with the province collapsed for the second time.
The striking workers include jail guards, school custodians, educational assistants, court stenographers, and clerical and cleaning staff working for regional health authorities.
Higgs said in question period Friday morning that "we had a path forward when we left last night" that CUPE leaders promised to recommend to members, so he was disappointed to see health-care workers still picketing.
"We had an agreement last night," he said. But he said there was a condition attached to it about health-care workers returning to their jobs quickly.
Higgs said Attorney-General Ted Flemming and Health Minister Dorothy Shephard "are reviewing our options at this stage," a reference to the possibility of back-to-work legislation or the use of the province's emergency order to end the strike.
"We are in a pandemic," Higgs said. "We will address the issues in our hospitals. … We will be moving forward to get health-care workers back to work."
The government has scheduled a news conference for 2:45 p.m.
Drost told the outdoor news conference that he sent the government a counter-proposal to Thursday night's offer at 4:03 a.m.
He said if the province had accepted it, he had been prepared to send union members back to work Friday morning, but no response had come.
"We have gone above and beyond every step of this way to protect the public and protect you, but once again, tricks are being played," he said.
The first of several CUPE locals representing 20,000 workers walked off the job the morning of Oct. 29.
Drost arrived for the meeting with Higgs on Thursday at 1 p.m. and left at 8:45 p.m.
The dispute has focused on CUPE's push for wage increases, but Higgs is insisting that the union also agree to shift two of the union locals into the province's shared-risk pension plan.
That dispute over pensions was the focus of Higg's impromptu debates with CUPE members during his surprise appearance at the news conference.
Premier
Blaine Higgs arrives at the Canadian Union of Public Employees' news
conference at the foot of the legislature Friday morning. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
Higgs said during question period that the province had received a response from CUPE but would not say what it was.
But he said the union had raised "something additional" that wasn't part of Thursday's discussions.
"We are now focused on the emergency order and the health-care system in our province."
Drost called Higgs's appearance at the news conference "so bizarre" and would not say whether he thought health-care locals would comply if they were legally ordered back to work.
"This has been so unusual, this round of bargaining. We've never seen anything like this, ever."
http://charlesotherpersonalitie.blogspot.com/
Friday, 5 November 2021
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs leaves C.U.P.E News Conference in front of N.B. Legislature!!!!
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/premier-cupe-meet-1.6237094
Meeting between Premier and CUPE leader ends, but both sides mum on outcome
No details released and no announcement made about whether meeting will resume Friday
Stephen Drost arrived at Chancery Place, where the Premier's office is located, a few minutes before 1 p.m. He and fellow CUPE officials left shortly before 9 p.m.
A government spokesperson confirmed the meeting was over but would not say if there was any result or if the meeting would resume Friday morning.
CUPE spokesperson Simon Ouellette also confirmed the discussions had ended but had no further comment.
The first of more than 20,000 CUPE members began walking off the job last Friday morning after contract negotiations with the province collapsed for the second time.
Higgs told reporters Thursday morning that he still hoped the union will bend on his push to add another CUPE local to the province's shared-risk pension plan.
"From the beginning there's been this 'I won't talk about it,'" he said. "I don't think any of us can go in with the attitude that we won't talk about it. That isn't the spirit of any meeting you'd have to try to resolve conflict."
He said he didn't expect the meeting with Drost to resolve the dispute, but it could determine whether negotiations can resume.
He added that he was prepared to talk to Drost for as long as it took.
"It's the priority, so for me it won't really matter what else is in the schedule."
The striking workers include jail guards, school custodians, court stenographers, and clerical and cleaning staff working for regional health authorities.
The locals have been without contracts for years. The court stenographers' last contract expired in 2016.
Another CUPE local representing N.B. Liquor store and warehouse workers is holding a strike vote this week.
Higgs has warned that he could use back-to-work legislation, including an imposed wage mandate, to end the dispute.
But he said he may also use the province's COVID-19 emergency order to force health-care workers back, given the impact of the strike on vaccination clinics, testing sites and hospital procedures.
"Something has to give. We can't let the health-care system be impacted."
While legislation would take several days of debate before it could be adopted, the emergency order can be invoked quickly by cabinet order.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/wage-mandate-cupe-meeting-higgs-1.6235718
Higgs to meet with CUPE Thursday as opposition to single 'wage mandate' heats up
Premier hopes to avoid back-to-work bill, nurses union issues warning of legal challenge if bill goes ahead
New Brunswick Nurses Union president Paula Doucet says her members won't accept a so-called wage mandate that Premier Blaine Higgs could use to end the strike.
And she would not rule out a legal challenge to such a law.
"We have some legal [people] here in our office that would definitely put their eyes to that," Doucet says.
Higgs repeated his warning Wednesday that if he uses back-to-work legislation to end the CUPE strike, it will include a wage mandate imposing uniform increases on those union locals and all other public-sector workers.
Doucet says that would be an insult to nurses who've been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020 and who have twice rejected tentative agreements on a new contract.
"Having something mandated to them now is another slap in the face," she said.
"Nurses are tired and frustrated and exhausted, and they're just really looking for some recognition here as well as better working conditions and fair compensation, and they're not getting that now."
Paula
Doucet, the president of the New Brunswick Nurses Union, says a wage
mandate would be an insult to nurses who've been on the front lines of
the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020. (Ed Hunter)
Premier 'optimistic' a deal can be reached
Higgs told reporters Wednesday morning he still hopes to avoid using legislation to end the dispute, which began last Friday.
"I'd like to remain optimistic that we will still be able to work out a negotiated settlement with CUPE, and the opportunity for us to get back to the table is real."
Not long afterward, CUPE New Brunswick spokesperson Simon Ouellette confirmed that union officials will meet government representatives Thursday at 1 p.m.
"I can confirm the premier has invited CUPE leadership to meet tomorrow at 1 p.m.," Higgs's spokesperson Nicolle Carlin said in a statement.
Ouellette said it's not clear whether it's a return to bargaining or just a meeting to discuss restarting negotiations.
Around 20,000 CUPE members in 10 locals began striking last Friday after a second breakdown in contract negotiations. The locals have been without contracts for years. One, representing court stenographers, saw its last agreement expire in 2016.
ANBL workers starting strike votes
CUPE announced Wednesday that another of its locals representing N.B. Liquor employees were starting strike votes that would run until Saturday.
Members of Local 963, who include employees of 41 liquor stores, ratified a contract last year, but Higgs blocked it because its wage increases were higher than his wage model for provincial workers.
Several hundred CUPE members and supporters returned to the legislature Wednesday after a larger protest Tuesday. For the second day, horns and noisemakers used by the crowd were picked up by the microphones and sound system in the chamber.
In question period, Opposition Liberal Leader Roger Melanson pressed Attorney-General Ted Flemming on a 2015 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that upheld the right to strike and set a high bar for governments using back-to-work legislation.
Flemming called it a "complex question" with "assorted variations" of court rulings on the issue but said any legislation would comply with the Constitution.
"If it is not justified in law, we won't do it," he said.
Wage mandate would have to be for all: Higgs
Higgs said applying a wage mandate to all bargaining groups, whether they have signed contracts now or not, would protect the bill from a legal challenge.
"It would be for all unions, because it wouldn't be fair [otherwise]. That's my understanding legally. … We have to do it for everyone."
That would involve about 58,000 provincial employees, about 80 per cent of whom are represented by unions, he said.
Higgs added that no union with a signed contract would see anything rolled back by a wage mandate. Any imposed package would be equal to or better than existing agreements.
"I would feel obligated to provide those same terms and conditions to those that have settled," the premier said.
Liberal Leader Roger Melanson said a back-to-work bill with a
single wage mandate across the board is not the way to go. (Joe
McDonald/CBC file photo)
Melanson said a back-to-work bill with a single wage mandate across the board is not the way to go.
"Each group has different issues that they want to deal with, so that's why you get to the negotiating table and you discuss them. Negotiation is not a monologue, it's a dialogue."
Green Leader David Coon said such a move would be "autocratic."
"It throws the whole notion of collective bargaining on its head, to be doing that by fiat, by legislated fiat. Not only is it unacceptable but I think it would be open to court challenges, no question."
Higgs said Wednesday that a second-quarter fiscal projection for the 2021-22 financial year foresees a budget surplus of $200 million to $300 million, a fact that opposition parties seized on to argue the province can afford to make CUPE a better offer.
The premier repeated that any contract has to be affordable for years to come, and it's not certain the province will have that much money to work with after this year.
The Liberals also continued needling Higgs about whether his PC caucus is united behind his approach to negotiations.
"There's a whole team of ministers and MLAs and we still don't know what they believe in this strike situation," Melanson said in question period. "What is his team actually doing to help him out?"
Higgs said that "more than most," he's been open to different views in his government, but "at the end of the day, the premier does what he believes is right with the collection of information he has received from his caucus."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Thousands protest pension reforms
Angry crowd of retired public servants and supporters gathered outside legislature on Wednesday
But the premier's office disputes that figure, which the police officers, who were providing crowd and traffic control, described as being a "conservative estimate."
Spokesperson Jesse Robichaud contends it was closer to 700, based on photos and estimates by the RCMP, who provide security to the premier.
The protesters, who came from across New Brunswick, were carrying signs with slogans, such as "Broken contract equals broken trust," and "Ditch the dictators."
Some of the pension reform protesters had heated words for
former finance minister Blaine Higgs who pushed the changes. (Jacques
Poitras/CBC)
The retired public servants say they will not agree to the proposed reforms, which are tied to the government's plan to move to a shared-risk model for the public service.
Finance Minister Blaine Higgs met with some of the angry protesters and told them the existing plan has to change.
"What we have — if you wanna listen for one second — what we have found here is a pension plan that this province cannot afford. It is not sustainable," Higgs said over shouting.
"We're going to lose it for you, for the current employees, and future employees. That's why we're doing it," he said.
Higgs told reporters the protest will not prompt further concessions on the provincial government's pension plans.
"Absolutely not," he said.
The Alward government signalled during Tuesday's throne speech it plans to press ahead with pension changes and will introduce legislation this session.
"The status quo is not an option," the speech stated.
The pension plan is currently facing a $1-billion deficit, which is expected to grow. The government wants to move to a shared-risk model so taxpayers don't have to top up the fund in years when it loses money.
Higgs did say earlier this week, however, that the government was softening its stance on pension reforms for retirees.
He said a letter was being sent to retirees, promising that their base benefits will never be lower than they currently are.
But the retirees say they do not trust the government.
They are also upset about the lack of an absolute guarantee of annual cost of living increases.
If the markets perform poorly in a given year, there may be no cost of living increase. But the government says it will be made up in years when the markets perform well.
Over a 20-year period, the government says the average cost of living increase will be at least 75 per cent of the rate of inflation, but says it has run the economic statistics from the past 20 years through the reformed model and there would have been a full cost of living increase in every one of those years, even during the 2008 market crash.
A long line of protesters had already gathered at the legislature by about 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
Still, civil servants who have already retired have said they would fight any change in benefits in court, arguing it's not fair to change their benefits retroactively.
Under the current plan, retired civil servants are sheltered from any risk of market downturns by the provincial government with guaranteed cost-of-living increases.
Under the reforms, announced by Premier David Alward in May 2012, the risk would be shared by both sides.
The proposed model also includes increased contribution levels and higher age of retirement phased in slowly.
The size of the anti-pension reforms protest exceeded Tuesday's anti-shale gas demonstration.
https://nbmediacoop.org/2021/11/01/irving-media-unsurprisingly-blames-cupe-workers-for-strike/
Irving media unsurprisingly blames CUPE workers for strike
CUPE workers are maintaining picket lines throughout New Brunswick. Photo by Aditya Rao.
In case it’s not clear, the NB Media Co-op supports the nearly 22,000 CUPE front-line workers without a contract, many of whom are currently striking for decent wages. The Irving media does not.
Should we expect the newspapers owned by J.D. Irving Ltd. to support striking workers? The simple answer is no.
Since CUPE NB began its 100-day campaign for fair wages in May, the editorial board of the Telegraph-Journal has been bombarding readers with anti-CUPE rants in a brazen attempt to sway public opinion against school bus drivers, educational support staff, custodians, mechanics, healthcare workers, transportation and infrastructure workers, and community college workers.
A week ago, after 10 different CUPE NB locals voted overwhelmingly (83-98 per cent) in favour of strike action, the Telegraph-Journal titled its editorial: “CUPE strike must not go ahead,” claiming a strike would be “irresponsible and out of touch.”
A generous reading of the news coverage and editorials by the Telegraph-Journal, Times & Transcript and The Daily Gleaner would say that their editorial boards have a broken thermometer, unable to take an accurate temperature of workers’ situations and sympathies. However, Irving’s Brunswick News corporation has always had a vested interest in breaking our collective thermometer to prevent us from seeing what is actually happening.
The former Brunswick News editor and current pundit Norbert Cunningham told us in his Friday, Oct. 29 Telegraph-Journal column that students and parents are suffering the most from CUPE’s strike. He claimed CUPE is unlikely to get any public sympathy. He was wrong.
Across the province that Friday, many parents woke up surprised that school was cancelled. They had to arrange child care like they would on any snow day, but most of the public chatter on the street and on social media did not blame CUPE for their inconveniences. Rather it expressed understanding, often followed by questions such as “where’s the nearest picket line?” and “is there a strike fund? I’d like to donate.”
No matter how many times they try to peddle their anti-CUPE message, no editor or pundit for the Irving press can convince New Brunswickers that the person driving our kids to school, cleaning our public places or providing care in our hospitals is undeserving of a wage increase to pay their bills.
The government of New Brunswick prefers to keep workers’ wages the lowest in the country in favour of spending public money on corporate handouts. The government also spent money on a full page ad in Irving newspapers and L’Acadie Nouvelle telling us that CUPE workers do not deserve what they are asking.
A popular tweet by Aditya Rao pointed out that Premier Higgs is saying there is not enough money to pay workers while it gives away $100 million in subsidies to six pulp and paper mills, including J.D. Irving’s mill in Saint John, lets J.D. Irving and other forestry companies off the hook for $200 million in timber royalties that should have been paid to the province, gives a half a million property tax discount to Irving’s headquarters in Saint John, and spends $250,000 on a yacht club.
New Brunswick is home to not one but two billionaire Irvings, two men made super rich off the backs of workers and by not paying their fair share of taxes.
New Brunswick’s Premier Blaine Higgs made a career out of making Irving Oil rich. He was an executive for the company during a long strike at the Irving Oil Refinery from 1994 to 1996.
Today, Premier Higgs clearly forgets who he is working for, as he celebrates surpluses and rejects federal funding to supplement health care wages and transportation infrastructure during a pandemic.
When New Brunswick runs a surplus of $408.5 million in the middle of a pandemic, we should question the government’s priorities.
And when an Irving-owned media outlet tells us to not support striking workers, we should remember that Irving fired 11 writers and editors with The Daily Gleaner without notice in 1977. The workers believed they were fired when management learned of their plans to unionize.
The Irving empire with tentacles in not only media but also energy, forestry, manufacturing, shipbuilding and transportation is in need of serious public scrutiny and investigative journalism, especially during times of labour unrest. Without that needed oversight, Brunswick News instead gives us simplistic accounts of government employers as heroes and front-line workers as villains. In all their CUPE NB strike stories, the “why” in the 5 Ws of journalism is missing.
So, why are CUPE workers striking? The union originally requested a 20 per cent raise over four years: the price of a bag of apples. The Higgs government counter-offered an 8.5 per cent wage increase over five years. With inflation at about 4.4 per cent, the Higgs government is actually offering a wage cut for one of the country’s lowest paid public sector workforces.
A last-minute return to the bargaining table saw CUPE reduce its ask by 8 per cent and the government increase its offer by only 2.25 per cent. CUPE NB President Steve Drost called the last government offer “absurd” and we agree.
As the strike goes on, we can expect more editorials from the Irving newspapers telling us that workers should not be greedy during a pandemic when they should feel lucky to have a job. They will tell us that now is not the time to strike. But, if not now, then when?
Many front-line workers have been waiting more than five years for a wage increase. The price of housing, food, medicine and other necessities has increased much more than their wages.
Since when did our expectations fall so low that we accept that any worker, unionized or not, must have more than one job to make ends meet? Or that they should leave the province for better wages elsewhere?
The Higgs government walked away from the last bargaining round, leaving the workers with no other choice but to strike. Then on October 31, Higgs locked out 3,000 workers, including school bus drivers, custodians, library assistants and educational assistants. Today, the premier made moves to more quickly pass anti-worker back-to-work legislation by cancelling the throne speech. He has also suggested using a cabinet order under the COVID state of emergency to end the strike.
As expected, Higgs is blaming striking workers for jeopardizing our healthcare system, and Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development Dominic Cardy is telling us that CUPE has ruined Halloween for our children. And, also as expected, the Telegraph Journal and other Irving-owned newspapers are parroting the same tune.
Today’s coverage in the Irving newspapers includes headlines like “Premier urges CUPE to accept offer and end strike” and “Strike means longer wait times: health networks.” Again, CUPE is painted as the villain harming our access to health care when it is Premier Higgs that has the power to end this strike by offering a wage increase that is acceptable to our front-line workers.
Contrary to what the Irving media tells us, we should not be demanding less for our front-line workers who are working even harder through a pandemic, we all should be demanding more.
The NB Media Co-op will continue to support CUPE’s fight for social and economic justice and publish stories from the perspectives of the workers fighting for a fair wage. See you on the picket line.
We corrected an error in an earlier version of this article: New Brunswick’s surplus for 2020-2021 is 408.5 million. The correction was made on Nov. 1, 2021 at 6:52pm.
Following Dutch Model, New Brunswick
Leads Canada's Pension Model Reforms
A new, risk-sharing pension design is taking off in Canada.
On May 31, 2012 David Alward stood before the Legislative Assembly of the Province of New Brunswick, Canada. As Premier, he was about to preside over an event unprecedented in the history of the province. It was the last day before the legislature’s summer recess and Alward, as host of the occasion, had invited representatives from all six New Brunswick labor unions onto the floor, along with members of both the Liberal and New Democratic opposition parties and a special task force he had appointed after his 2010 election. After more than a year of research, planning and negotiation, the unified group of labor and elected officials had an announcement to make. The subject du jour: pensions.
The events of May 2012 have only just begun to be felt across the province and beyond its borders. Whereas many private companies and public jurisdictions have previously turned to employer-based, individual retirement savings plans as a solution to their employees’ future income needs, the citizens, politicians, union members and pension officials in New Brunswick sought and enacted a solution to providing real pension benefits that would be economically sound under 21st century conditions. Now throughout Canada, and beyond its borders, pension stakeholders are starting to take note.
As the financial crisis of 2008 exploded, New Brunswick — which shares its western border with the U.S. State of Maine and its eastern border with the Atlantic Ocean — watched many of the public and private pension funds within its borders take a big hit. It soon became apparent that the usual Band Aid–type fixes, like increasing contributions into a plan, were not going to work this time.
Honoring his campaign promise to find an industrial strength fix for pension underfunding, in late October 2010 Alward appointed a three-member task force to solve the problem. In a particularly politic move, the premier tapped well-respected labor attorney Susan Rowland and longtime actuary Paul McCrossan, a member of Alward’s Progressive Conservative party, to spearhead the effort. Economics professor and public policy research expert Pierre-Marcel Desjardins rounded out the team. After more than a year of studying pension systems around the globe, and identifying the Dutch system as their number one model, the New Brunswick Pension Task Force announced the details of a new pension scheme that would be “more secure, transparent, sustainable, reliable, affordable and predictable” than either a defined benefit or defined contribution plan. It was named the Shared Risk Pension.
“Shared risk would fix most pension problems in North America,” asserts Rowland, chief of the pension task force. With the shared risk model, New Brunswick became the first jurisdiction in North America to develop comprehensive funding and risk management procedures in the administration of pensions, that cover both asset and liability management while addressing the challenges faced by pension schemes today and into the future, underlines the report entitled, “Rebuilding New Brunswick: The Case for Pension Reform.”
The new pension model sports the best features of the Dutch pension system: pooled assets that are professionally managed; strict and predictable funding requirements; and risk management processes not previously a part of New Brunswick’s defined benefit plans. Like the Dutch plan — and the Wisconsin Retirement System in the U.S. — the shared risk plan is designed to self-correct according to the performance of its investment portfolio. That means that cost of living adjustments are eliminated in favor of a system of either “dividends” or reductions that change in concert with the annual portfolio asset size fluctuations.
Alward began his quest for a better pension model after several forest and paper products companies, the biggest industry in New Brunswick, took a severe hit during the dip in the housing market brought on by the 2002 downturn and 2008 financial crisis. Companies like Fraser Papers (in 2010) and St. Anne-Nackawic Pulp Co. (in 2004) saw their pension promises go up in smoke as they entered bankruptcy. When pensioners had their monthly checks slashed by 30 to 40 percent, Canadians learned that a pension promise could be broken. Soon public pension deficits came to light as Moody’s Investor Services and Standard and Poor’s Rating Services downgraded New Brunswick’s credit rating in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
One of the keys to making the new pension scheme a reality was the cooperation between political parties, public government and labor unions. “We adopted a collaborative approach to get it done,” explains task force member McCrossan. “When we designed the pension plan, the whole province took part in it,” adds the actuary who came back from his 2006 retirement twice: once to help the International Monetary Fund grapple with global pension issues ahead of the impending crisis and then again in 2010 when Alward appointed him to the pension task force. “The fear factor went away when we showed them the information,” agrees Michael O’Brien, a Fredericton city councillor and former finance committee chair, speaking about his own work with the unions and retirees.
The City of Fredericton, home of the provincial government, has six separate pension funds, five of which initially chose to move to the new structure. Along with the pension of New Brunswick’s City of Saint John, the governance structure of the old plan has been entirely redesigned. In the City of Fredericton, the old defined benefit plan, which had been managed by the municipal government along with its other financial portfolios, is now, by law, the fiduciary responsibility of an independent board of eight trustees. The board members are an even split between council-appointees and union members.
“Six union presidents came together in July 2010,” explains Wade Kierstead, president of CUPE 3864, known formally as the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ Technical and Professional Union for the City of Fredericton. That was when the city’s pension fund first raised serious flags. The $200 million City of Fredericton pension fund was found to be $59 million underfunded. It is one of the smaller plans; the largest, the New Brunswick government employee fund, stands at $5 billion in assets. Kierstead and his fellow union leaders got their members behind the change. There are sacrifices on both sides, employee and employer. For example, both will increase their contributions and a higher retirement age will be phased in over a 40-year period. Like Dutch pensions, the plans must be overfunded, in this case at 115 percent, to meet new legal requirements. “Everybody takes a little cut,” explains Jane Blakely, director of strategic direction and consulting for the City of Fredericton.
To incorporate all the changes, the Canadian Pension Benefits Act had to be amended. So it was that on May 31, 2012, when the amendment was officially accepted, creating a Part 2 of the Act that made way for the new pension regime, that the entire legislature gave Alward, the union leaders, and the pension task force a well-deserved standing ovation for bringing about a change that protects the future retirement of the 47,000 public employees of the Province of New Brunswick.
Looking forward, there are now plans in the pipeline, following the change over to the new scheme for most New Brunswick pensions, to amalgamate most of the plans into one, $10 billion pension plan. Outside New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Kathy Dunderdale and Prince Edward Island Premier Robert Ghiz, are both studying the New Brunswick pension model.
For Canada, the development and adoption of a pension plan for the 21st century proves that it is possible for a disparate group of pension stakeholders — legislators, labor unions, employees, pensioners, and citizens — to work together to ensure a secure retirement for public servants.
https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/news/news_release.2010.12.1849.html
News Release
Pension task force members named
07 December 2010FREDERICTON
(CNB) – The three members of the Task Force on Protecting Pensions were
named today by Justice and Consumer Affairs Minister Marie-Claude
Blais.
The task force, which was announced on Oct. 28, will lead public
consultations and examine the long-term stability and security of
private pensions in New Brunswick.
The three members of the task force are Paul McCrossan, Susan Rowland and Pierre-Marcel Desjardins.
"Employees deserve to know that the pensions they have contributed to
all their working lives will be there when they retire,” said Blais.
“Retirees need to know the pension they count on will continue to
support them throughout retirement. That is why I am pleased we have
been able to assemble such a qualified team of experts to undertake this
important review."
Among the issues that the task force will examine are:
● rules protecting employees and pensioners;
● ensuring that the long-term sustainability of pension promises made to workers is honoured and protected; and
● reviewing the structure meant to protect pension plans to insure they are as effective as possible.
"Our goal at the end of the review is to ensure New Brunswick has the
rules and regulations in place that are needed to offer our residents
the best protection possible for their hard-earned pension savings,"
said Blais.
The task force brings extensive experience in the field of private
pension administration and pension restructuring. The panel will report
back to government with their findings and recommendations.
Biographies of task force members
Throughout his career as a consultant and actuary, McCrossan has held various positions with the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, the Society of Actuaries and the International Actuarial Association. He has written and lectured extensively on the topic of finances and pensions. Serving twice as a Member of Parliament, he was involved in the reform of a number of key pieces of pension-related legislation, including the Pension Benefits Standards Act and the Canada Pension Plan Act.
Susan Rowland
A graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School, Rowland has focused her career on pension and benefits law, with particular expertise in the restructuring and funding of pension plans. Appointed as representative counsel by the Superintendent of Financial institutions for Ontario, she has assisted in resolving the under-funding of several high-profile pension plans, including: Algoma Steel, Ivaco Inc., General Motors of Canada and Chrysler Inc. Rowland has published numerous papers in professional journals and has been frequently invited to speak before groups interested in pension and insolvency issues.
Pierre-Marcel Desjardins
Desjardins has a Ph.D. in economics and has been teaching economics at the Université de Moncton since 1990. He is also researcher at that Canadian Institute for Research on Public Policy and Public Administration. He is vice-president of the Fédération des caisses populaires acadiennes, the executive director of the Canadian Regional Science Association, a member of the board of directors of the Caisse populaire Kent-Sud, and a member of the advisory committee for the Sainte-Marie-de-Kent local service district.
Paul Harpelle, communications, Department of Justice and Consumer Affairs, 506-453-6543, paul.harpelle@gnb.ca.
Sue Rowland
Experience
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/retirees-hire-lawyer-to-fight-pension-reforms-1.1411964
Retirees hire lawyer to fight pension reforms
Pension Coalition says switching civil service plan to shared-risk model is unfair
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/153/891/nb-pension-lawyer-073113_620x350_2398884160.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
A group of retired New Brunswick public servants has hired a Toronto lawyer to help fight changes to the civil service pension program.
Pension Coalition NB, which is made up of hundreds of retired provincial government workers, has brought in pension rights lawyer Ari Kaplan.
Kaplan, who has had success fighting pension changes in New Brunswick before, says the government's latest proposal of a shared-risk model is unfair.
"The issue is how to fairly distribute the risk among all people that would be contributing. And most of that risk has already been borne by the pensioners, given that they've worked their lives — 30, 40 years — to earn these benefits," he said.
Clifford
Kennedy says a coalition of retired civil servants is not ruling out
legal intervention against the provincial government's pension reforms. (CBC)
Under the current plan, retired civil servants are sheltered from any risk of market downturns by the provincial government with guaranteed cost-of-living increases.
Under the reforms, announced by Premier David Alward in May 2012, the risk would be shared by both sides.
The proposed model also includes increased contribution levels and higher age of retirement phased in slowly.
Retirees maintain it's not fair to change their benefits retroactively.
Clifford Kennedy, a coalition member, says that while relations with the government have improved, the group is not ruling out legal intervention.
And that's something the provincial government would no doubt like to avoid coming into an election year.
"Our members are expecting that those rights will be respected," said Kennedy, 62.
"This individual [Kaplan] is the one that pleaded the case, Quinn vs. NB and won," he said.
Finance
Minister Blaine Higgs faced hundreds of angry civil servants during a
series of town hall meetings organized to discuss the proposed pension
reforms. (CBC)
"[Court of Queen's Bench Justice William] Grant came out and said that it is illegal for government to go out against retirees and take away their benefits."
Grant had said the primary purpose of cost-of-living adjustments "is to protect retirees from inflation because of their vulnerable circumstances arising from the fact that upon retirement their income is otherwise fixed and they are no longer able to bargain better remuneration to counteract inflation."
Grant directed the committee that oversees the pension plan for the New Brunswick Nurses Union and the New Brunswick Union of Public and Private Employees to refrain from making adjustments to cost-of-living adjustments for retirees.
The Pension Coalition has been vocal in its opposition to the proposed shared-risk model. Hundreds of members attended a series of heated public meetings about the reforms last spring.
Many people at the meetings warned Finance Minister Blaine Higgs they will punish the Alward government at the polls in next year’s election if the changes go forward.
The finance minister, who held information sessions in seven cities over four days in April, has acknowledged pensioners' concerns and apologized that the government did not effectively communicate the changes to retirees.
However, Higgs has also said the current plan is not sustainable. He’s dealing with a situation where some people may now be retired longer than they actually worked for the provincial government, he has said.
Retirees steadfast against pension changes, coalition says
Finance minister's meetings to try to sell reforms 'waste of time'
A whirlwind province-wide tour by the Finance minister to try to sell changes to the pension plan for retired civil servants was a waste of time, says a spokesman for Pension Coalition NB.
Retirees maintain it's not fair to change their benefits retroactively and will take the government to court if they have to, said Clifford Kennedy.
"Without a doubt in every single meeting people indicated … 'Leave our pensions alone. We signed a contract, we fulfilled our obligations and what you're doing is unethical and immoral," he said.
Four members of the Coalition delivered the same message during a meeting with Premier David Alward earlier this month, but to no avail, said Kennedy.
Retired civil servants are currently sheltered from any risk of market downturns by the provincial government. Under the reforms, however, the risk would be shared by both sides.
Guaranteed cost-of-living increases will also be eliminated for pensioners and instead be dependent upon market performance.
Kennedy contends when the premier announced the pension reforms in May, he said they would be applied on a go-forward basis only.
Then, in December, the government amended the Pension Benefits Act and "basically protected themselves from being sued," he said.
"We know clearly that our only option is to go to court if we don’t come to an understanding."
Finance Minister Blaine Higgs, who held information sessions in seven cities over four days last week, has said the current plan is not sustainable.
"We're not ignorant in regards to the fact that changes do need to be made," said Kennedy.
But it should not be on the backs of retirees, he said.
"Never did they ever think there could be a potential cut in the indexation — and even a potential reduction in their base benefit," Kennedy said, referring to the experience in the Netherlands, which is the model the New Brunswick reforms are based upon.
Although several of the Dutch plans have performed extremely well, with returns of up to 13.7 per cent, indexing has been eliminated this year and base benefits have been cut by 0.5 per cent, with another 1.6 per cent cut projected for next year, he said.
"That is 6.2 per cent reduction in two years on a plan that’s performed extremely well," said Kennedy. "That is scary."
Higgs tries to defuse furor over pension reforms
Finance minister says province 'not going to war'
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Finance Minister Blaine Higgs is trying to defuse the growing controversy of the provincial government’s proposed changes to the pension system for the civil service.
The finance minister has held a series of meetings around the province in recent days that have been attended by more than thousand angry retired civil servants.
He has been forced to apologize to the crowds for the provincial government’s handling of the pension reforms, even though he admits he had not been involved in the process until recently.
Finance Minister Blaine Higgs said he was not heavily involved in the pension reforms until recently. (CBC)
"I am embarrassed ... This program, this pension plan, I haven’t been involved with closely until this point in time. But I will be involved with it directly," Higgs said in an interview on Friday.
The controversy surrounds the proposed pension reforms.
Retired civil servants, under the current plan, are sheltered from any risk of market downturns by the provincial government.
Under the reforms, the risk would be shared by both sides.
Premier David Alward unveiled the proposed model last May, which included increased contribution levels and a higher age of retirement phased in over a period of time.
The retirement age will be increased to 65 from 60 over a 40-year period under the proposed model. Higgs said he’s dealing with a situation where some people may now be retired longer than they actually worked for the provincial government.
The finance minister said in the last budget he had to book $53 million in additional liabilities because of new mortality levels in the pension program.
The Public Service Superannuation Act (PSSA), which covers employees who work directly for government departments and NB Power, currently has a $1 billion shortfall.
It included 13,441 pensioners as of March 31, 2012. Their average annual pension was $20,603.
Province ‘not going to war’ on pensions
The finance minister has been confronted at these public meetings by many pensioners, who have relayed their deep frustration with the provincial government’s changes.
In Fredericton, Susan Merrill, a retired school teacher, passionately told Higgs how she had lost faith and trust in him and concluded, "I hope you don’t sleep well either."
Higgs said he’s trying to explain the provincial government’s position and reduce the anger about the reforms.
"I’m doing my part to minimize the hype and get the facts out there. I was not feeling very good about the meetings because things were said to me personally that I take very dearly," he said.
He said much of the controversy has been generated because of a lack of "good, clear information."
But many people at the public meetings have warned Higgs they will punish the Alward government at the polls in next year’s election if the changes go forward.
Betty Smith, a retired teacher, said on Thursday, "there will be war in the province before this is over."
The finance minister did his best to downplay such rhetoric.
"We are not going to war on any issues," Higgs said.
"What we are prepared to is to continue to explain to individuals and we are asking for their help to be part of the solution to a greater problem in this province."
There will be more pension reform meetings on Friday in Bathurst and Campbellton and in Edmundston on Saturday.
'There will be war' over pension changes, retirees warn
Angry civil service pensioners in Moncton tell finance minister reforms are 'illegal'
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/815/579/nb-pension-rage-041813_620x350_2380611477.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
Opposition to proposed pension reforms continued to gather strength on Thursday afternoon as Finance Minister Blaine Higgs met with hundreds of angry retired civil servants in Moncton.
About 600 people attended the public information session about switching to the shared-risk model, including Betty Smith, a retired teacher and member of the Pension Coalition of New Brunswick.
"What they are doing is unacceptable, we will not accept it," said Smith. "There will be war in the province before this is over."
Under the provincial government’s reforms, the future pension risk would be shared by both sides.
Guaranteed cost-of-living increases will also be eliminated for pensioners and instead be dependent upon market performance.
Smith, who spent 12 years teaching and 33 years in the classroom, said she worked too hard to see her pension plan change.
"What they are doing is illegal, very illegal," she said.
"All we want is what we paid for — nothing more, nothing less. Shared-risk is great on a go-forward basis, not the way it's going now."
"We paid dearly for what we have today, and the money has been squandered by the governments. And they want to get more of our money. And we're not going to put up with it," Smith said.
Higgs 'embarrassed' about lack of consultations
The finance minister was also peppered with questions about a lack of communication and consultation on the changes.
Higgs, who is touring the province, visiting seven cities in four days, acknowledged their concerns and apologized to the crowd several times.
"I have not been involved in the process to this level til this point," he said. "I am embarrassed to be in this position at this time, where discussions were not held to the degree where they should have been."
Higgs was defensive, however, when it came to threats that his government will suffer consequences at the polls over the unpopular pension changes.
That type of threat has scared previous governments and put the province deeper and deeper into debt, he said.
"For me and for my colleagues, we didn't join this to just have this province to continue to spiral down this hole. We joined it to say can we start to recover."
Under the current plan, the risk of any market downturns is borne by the provincial government alone. Under the reforms, the risk would be shared by both sides.
The proposed model, unveiled last May by Premier David Award, also includes increased contribution levels and higher age of retirement phased in slowly over a period of time.
Government officials have previously said the pension changes would not cut the benefits in place for retirees.
But a government actuary at the Saint John meeting acknowledged cost-of-living increases will be eliminated for pensioners and instead be dependent upon market performance.
The Public Service Superannuation Act (PSSA), which covers employees who work directly for government departments and NB Power, currently has a $1 billion shortfall.
It included 13,441 pensioners as of March 31, 2012. Their average annual pension was $20,603.
A meeting was also held in Miramichi on Thursday night.
Meetings are also scheduled for:
- Bathurst, April 19, 1 p.m.-3 p.m., Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick amphitheatre, Room 286C, 75 Youghall Dr.
- Campbellton, April 19, 6 p.m.-8 p.m.: Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick gymnasium, 47 du Village Ave.
- Edmundston, April 20, 1 p.m.-3 p.m.: Clarion Hotel, Banquet Room, 100 Rice St.
Blaine Higgs faces pension reform backlash in Fredericton
Retired teacher tells finance minister she has 'no faith in you, no trust in you'
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/811/675/nb-raw-pension-saint-john-041813_620x350_2380388511.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
The backlash against the Alward government’s proposed changes to the civil service pension program continued on Wednesday during a public meeting in Fredericton.
Finance Minister Blaine Higgs faced a crowd of more than 1,000 frustrated civil service pensioners, who demanded the proposed changes be halted, in Fredericton.
In front of the packed conference room, Susan Merrill, a retired school teacher, made an impassioned plea for Higgs to reconsider the proposed changes.
"I have no faith in you, no trust in you. I thought this contract that I’ve had for 37 years was good for my lifetime. And it isn't obviously," she told the finance minister.
She punctuated her exchange with Higgs with a very direct statement.
"I'm not sleeping well and I hope you don't sleep well either," she said.
More
than 1,000 retired civil servants showed up to a public meeting in
Fredericton on Wednesday to discuss proposed pension changes. (CBC)
The finance minister tried to assure Merrill and other speakers the provincial government wanted to hear their concerns. He also pointed to the financial pressures being faced by the provincial government.
Premier David Alward unveiled the proposed pension system last May and immediately had a group of unions sign onto the so-called shared-risk pension plan. Saint John also moved its troubled city pension plan over to a shared-risk model and Fredericton is following along as well.
Under the provincial government’s reforms, the future pension risk would be shared by both sides.
The proposed model also includes increased contribution levels and higher age of retirement phased in slowly over a period of time.
Government officials have previously said the pension changes would not cut the benefits in place for retirees.
But a government actuary at a Saint John meeting on Wednesday afternoon said cost-of-living increases will be eliminated for pensioners and instead be dependent upon market performance.
The Public Service Superannuation Act (PSSA) currently has a $1-billion shortfall, which is expected to get worse with people living longer and interest rates at historically low levels.
The PSSA plan covers employees who work directly for government departments and NB Power and included 13,441 pensioners as of March 31, 2012. Their average annual pension was $20,603.
In addition the PSSA has 19,611 active contributors.
The provincial government wants to move the $4-billion PSSA plan to the shared-risk model first, followed by the teachers' $4.2-billion plan.
The finance minister also faced a verbally hostile crowd of about 400 people in Saint John on Wednesday afternoon.
Higgs is planning several more meetings to discussion the proposed pension changes.
He told the crowds in Fredericton and Saint John that the provincial government has not effectively communicated the changes to retirees.
"This is a long overdue communication session and I want to apologize for that on behalf of all of us," he said.
Shared-risk pension info sessions to be held for retirees
7 meetings for public service pensioners start Wednesday
The Alward government plans to host seven regional information sessions on the proposed shared-risk pension model for public service retirees, starting on Wednesday.
"We want retirees of the PSSA [Public Service Superannuation Act] to get the right information on the challenges facing the current plan and how a more affordable and secure option is needed going forward," Finance Minister Blaine Higgs said in a statement late Tuesday afternoon.
The government announced last May an overhaul of its pension system that would see increased contribution levels and higher age of retirement phased in slowly over a period of time.
The pension changes will not cut the benefits in place for retirees, officials have said.
But under the current model, the risk of any market downturns is borne by the provincial government alone.
Under the reforms, the risk would be shared by both sides.
In addition, the reforms would see cost-of-living increases made conditional on the pension plan's performance.
Last year, a number of public service unions that have defined contribution pension plans agreed to adopt the shared risk model, but so far none of the unions with much richer defined benefit plans have followed suit.
The PSSA plan covers employees who work directly for government departments and NB Power and included 13,441 pensioners as of March 31, 2012. Their average annual pension was $20,603.
In addition the PSSA has 19,611 active contributors.
"The province has an obligation to consider the long-term sustainability of the pension plan both for current and future retirees," Higgs said in the statement.
The PSSA currently has a $1 billion shortfall, which is expected to get worse, he said.
"With people living longer after retirement and interest rates at historically low levels, action needs to be taken today."
The New Brunswick Union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1252 and the New Brunswick Pipe Trades will be using the new pension model for some of their pension plans.
The Opposition Liberals and NDP expressed early support for the changes, although Liberal Leader Brian Gallant has expressed concerns that existing retirees should not be affected by any reforms.
The information sessions will include a presentation outlining the PSSA's challenges and how the proposed shared-risk model will affect retirees, said Higgs.
Government officials will be available to answer questions, he said.
Sessions will be held in:
- Saint John, April 17, 1 p.m.-3 p.m., New Brunswick Community College gymnasium, 950 Grandview Ave.
- Fredericton, April 17, 6 p.m.-8 p.m., Fredericton Convention Centre, Pointe-Sainte Anne rooms A and B, 670 Queen St.
- Moncton, April 18, 1 p.m.-3 p.m., Moncton Lions Club, 55 Mark Ave.
- Miramichi, April 18, 6 p.m.-8 p.m., New Brunswick Community College gymnasium, 80 University Ave.
- Bathurst, April 19, 1 p.m.-3 p.m., Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick amphitheatre, Room 286C, 75 Youghall Dr.
- Campbellton, April 19, 6 p.m.-8 p.m.: Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick gymnasium, 47 du Village Ave.
- Edmundston, April 20, 1 p.m.-3 p.m.: Clarion Hotel, Banquet Room, 100 Rice St.
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