Peggy Revell
It was a small turnout Thursday evening as local MP John Rafferty hosted a local town hall meeting, which touched on the state of AbitibiBowater, pension reform, and the move by Ontario to a Harmonized Sales Tax.
While the Nov. 9 meeting in Atikokan drew roughly a dozen residents, even fewer were on hand for the one here at La Place Rendez-Vous.
For those who did attend, the big topic was the state of AbitibiBowater and pensions—an issue which Rafferty said he remains optimistic about.
From the federal perspective at this point, Rafferty said they don’t know what AbitibiBowater, which currently is undergoing restructuring under bankruptcy protection, has planned.
“We do have some money for them,” he noted, pointing to the recently-announced $33-million “black liquor” credit which AbitibiBowater landed from the federal government.
“But we can’t even get an answer whether they’ll spend the money in Thunder Bay or Fort Frances,” Rafferty added, noting it isn’t mandatory that the company spend this money within Northwestern Ontario (such as on a condenser for the Thunder Bay mill, which would make that site move up the list of valuable assets for the company).
As for pensions, Rafferty pointed to achievements so far on the issue—of which the trade-off is keeping the Conservative minority government in power.
“We’ve made some remarkable strides when it comes to pension reform,” he remarked, pointing to recent reform which means pensioners have “super creditor” status in the case of bankruptcy.
As well, the federal government now will be “backing” the pension payout in the case of bankruptcy, and in turn collecting from the business, he added.
But Rafferty said they’ve had no luck so far on the government allowing businesses to not take pension holidays, although they soon will be voting on measures that will mean pensions can accumulate wealth and be more aggressive.
The House of Commons also will be voting soon on reform which will mean workers will have representation at the table in the case of bankruptcy.
But the government is going to have to last long enough for these small reforms to go through, Rafferty warned, noting there’s been no pension reform in Canada for decades, and Canada is on the “verge of playing catch up” with the United States.
Also touched upon at last Thursday’s meeting was Ontario’s plan—with support from the federal government—to implement a Harmonized Sales Tax, a move Rafferty opposes.
He urged people to speak up against the HST, and visit www.unfairtaxgrab.com to learn more about how it will affect communities in Northern Ontario.
Plans also are in the works for an “anti-HST” tour across Ontario, he noted.
Despite the low turnout, Rafferty vowed he will continue to hold town hall meetings throughout the district in hopes people eventually will catch on and come out to voice their concerns.
