How many Finance Ministers does it take to vaporize $35 billion in personal pension savings?

Answer: Eleven. One bright light by the name of Jim Flaherty, to come up with his fraudulent tax leakage argument. And the other ten to screw it to investors, by piling on, much like the group mentality swarming of Reena Virk, with letters of support to Flaherty, during a period of federal provincial transfer payment negotiations.

Next question: How many of these 11 Finance Ministers, with a new found interest in Canadians dwindling retirement savings, ever provided to their citizens or even asked for Flaherty’s proof of supposed “tax leakage” from income trusts?

These collective incompetents, known as “Finance Ministers’, need to be held to account for their theft of $35 billion in Canadians' retirement assets, for no proven purpose:

Finance Ministers to discuss pension security
CTV News
May 25, 2009

The ministers decided to form a study group that will examine Canada's private pension plan system.

Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan and other provincial ministers had called on the federal government to focus on the lack of retirement savings among Canadians, as the recession erodes people's bank accounts.

"We need to look at the question of pension adequacy," Duncan told CTV's Power Play. "In Ontario -- and I think the number is comparable across the country -- only about 30 per cent of people have a private pension."

He also said many of those with pension plans are not maximizing their savings with the various tax incentives, and that increasing longevity is also having an impact.

"We're living longer," he said. "The costs associated with getting older, like heavier medical needs and heavier long-term care needs, mean that our costs are going to be higher than I think many of us are anticipating."

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said on Monday he personally asked Prime Minister Stephen Harper to host a national summit to develop polices that will maintain a decent retirement income for seniors.

McGuinty rejected a call from Ontario's New Democrats on Monday to establish a provincial pension plan for the two-thirds of people who don't have a workplace pension. But he told the legislature if the federal government fails to act, it's something he would consider.

McGuinty said that most premiers agree the issue needs to be dealt with at the national level even though British Columbia and Alberta mulled over the possibility of setting up their own provincial plans.

Demands for Ottawa to act have been increasing as private pension schemes falter and stocks suffer from the recession.

TD Chief Economist Don Drummond said many Canadians have been left with inadequate amounts of savings in their Registered Retirement Savings Plans.

He said the Canadian Pension Plan only replaces about a quarter of one's earnings after retirement and as the baby boomers begin to retire, the system will be put under considerable stress.

"There is an onus on the public policy authorities either to make other alternative plans available voluntarily or perhaps even make it compulsory," he told CTV Newsnet.

Although the Conservatives have introduced incentives for Canadians to save money such as tax-free savings accounts, they have been reluctant to shore up pension savings on a broad scale.

Rather, the government has so far directed its efforts to study how to preserve the small amount of workplace pension plans regulated by Ottawa.

Flaherty said pensions will be a major part of the discussion and agreed with Duncan that the issue needs a national approach, even though only 10 per cent of private pensions are regulated by the federal government

"We're all Canadians, we're all in this together," he said Monday.