Wynne believes a federal Liberal government would support pension reform

OTTAWA – Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne believes that if the federal Liberals win next year’s election, they would be “supportive” of her pension reform efforts.

The Liberal premier has been critical of the Conservative government on that score, saying Thursday in a speech in Ottawa that it is “punting on its obligation to help Canadians prepare for retirement.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in turn, has panned Wynne’s bid to create a made-in-Ontario pension plan, saying people prefer tax breaks as a reward for saving for retirement, rather than having their taxes hiked to force them to save.

There is agreement among premiers and leaders of different political stripes across the country that there is a retirement security problem, and the federal government says they won’t deal with it, Wynne said.

“I think that has to be an ideological position because there’s no evidence to the contrary, there’s no evidence that would suggest that there isn’t a problem,” she said after her speech.

The federal Liberals, meanwhile, are still putting together their platform, but their team has been talking with her team, Wynne said.

“My hope would be that we’ll be able to land in a place that would work for both of us,” she said after her speech. “I certainly think they will be supportive, but the details of what that will look like we need to work out.”

Wynne said she embarked on the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan when it “became clear” the province couldn’t wait any longer for leadership from Ottawa on pension reform.

“Predictably, ideologues are reacting with theatrical outrage,” she said in her speech.

The Ontario Retirement Pension Plan will require contributions from both employees and companies starting in 2017.

The Tories argue it would be harmful to increase contributions from workers and employers until the economy gathers steam. But Wynne has previously insisted the Ontario plan wouldn’t hurt the economy because it would be phased in gradually.