Defend our pensions
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
Sears is ripping up pensions for thousands of former staff, while giving the executives who bankrupted the company $9.2 million in bonuses.
Sign the petition calling on the government to strengthen our bankruptcy laws to put pensions first.
This is outrageous! More than 16,000 Sears Canada pensioners are losing their retirement benefits -- while the executives who drove the company to bankruptcy are walking away with more than $9.2 million in bonuses. [1]
Because of Canada’s weak bankruptcy laws, anyone who is counting on a company pension to support them in old age could face the same tragic fate as Sears workers. All of us know someone whose old-age security could be at risk -- and we have to do something.
Yesterday, Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said the Liberal government is open to finding solutions to protect our pensions but that there is "no plan" to change the laws.[2] Now, MPs from the NDP and Bloc Quebecois are proposing new laws to force companies to make pensions the top priority when a company goes bankrupt, creating an opportunity to fix this problem for good. [3]
If thousands of us sign a petition today, we can convince the government to help pass these laws to defend our pensions. But we need to act fast, while the Sears story is all over the news, and the government is under pressure to respond.
please can you add your name right now?
Pensions are the safety net that let us sleep easy knowing that our families can live with dignity into old age. Many of us spend years paying into them, but our weak bankruptcy laws mean billionaire CEOs can tear up our pensions if their company goes under.
We’ve seen this happen over and over again with Nortel, Target Canada, Stelco, Indalex Canada and now Sears. Could the pension that supports you, your parents, or your grandmother be next? [4-7]
But right now we have the opportunity to fix the problem for good. The Sears tragedy has started a national conversation about the gaps in our bankruptcy laws -- and opposition MPs have put forward legislation to make pensions a “super-priority”, so that they get paid out before any other debts are paid.
Minister Bains says he’s “open” to solutions, and a massive petition could convince him to back the bill to defend pensions in our bankruptcy laws. Will you sign the petition now, while the Sears tragedy is in the news and the Liberals are under pressure to respond?
We’re in this together,
Logan and Jolan, on behalf of the entire Leadnow.ca team
[1] http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/advocates-pushing-for-new-laws-that-put-pensioners-first-1.3648831
[2-3] http://windsorstar.com/business/sears-liquidation-puts-pressure-on-feds-to-protect-workers-pensions
[4] http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/sears-canada-facebook-restructuring-comments-severance-1.4216351
[7] http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/steelworkers-hear-agreement-1.4140671
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