Friday, October 23, 2009

Liberals: Tell me that this isn't a gross conflict of interest.


What do the Liberals think they are doing hosting a National Pension and Retirement Income Security Forum in Room 200 West Block, House of Commons. On October 26, 2009 that is sponsored by the Canadian Life & Health Insurance Association Inc.?

What do we have paid elected members of Parliament for, to simply off load their duties to those with massive commercial interests at stake, such as the membership of the Canadian Life & Health Insurance Association?

If nothing else, these optics stink.

This supposed Forum is biased toward the interest of the Life Insurance industry before it even gets started. The Life Insurance industry have a business agenda at play here. Are the Liberals not able to host a forum on this important topic without the assistance of commercial interests? The life insurance industry have proven themselves to be up to no good, when they successfully lobbied the Harper government to eliminate income trusts in order to lessen their competition for the synthetic investment wares of the life insurance companies. This confirms my worst suspicions about the Liberal Party and their flaccid advocacy on behalf of income trust investors, whose life savings were destroyed by the hoax called tax leakage perpetrated at the behest of the membership of the very Canadian Life & Health Insurance Association, who the Liberals have appeared to accede to on these matters of pension security. This is like inviting the fox to guard the hen house.

Meanwhile we have the Liberals kowtowing to the usual list of suspects at their policy forum on pensions, starting with CARP who have proven themselves to be nothing more than a faux seniors’ advocacy group/front organization for the life insurance industry, or are the Liberals too out to lunch to know that?

National Pension and Retirement Income Security Forum
Hosted by Hon. Judy Sgro, PC, MP – Official Opposition Critic, Seniors & Pensions
Room 200 West Block, House of Commons

Proudly supported by Canadian Life & Health Insurance Association.

Panellists:

Susan Eng, VP, Advocacy, Canadian Association of Retired Persons
Jean‐Luc Racine, Executive Director, Fédération des aînées et aînés francophones
Mike Hale, Immediate Past President, Canadian Institute of Actuaries
Phil Benson, Lobbyist, Teamsters Canada
Joel Harden, Pension Policy Expert, Canadian Labour Congress
Michael Boychuk, President/CEO Bimcor Inc. (Representing the Group of 7)
Catherine Swift, President/CEO, Canadian Federation of Independent Business
Sue Reibel, Senior Vice President & General Manager
Canadian Group Savings & Retirement Solutions Manulife Financial
(Representing Canadian Life & Health Insurance Association Inc.)
Diane A. Urquhart, Independent Financial Analyst
James Pierlot, LL.M., Towers Perrin – Toronto
Kelly Law, Associate Director, Canada Without Poverty

11 comments:

Dr Mike said...

Holy crap heads , some panel , & Diane Urquhart to boot.

Where are all the little people like the rest of us.

Nary a one

Lots of trust killers , how wonderful is that.

Sheeeesh , if the Liberal had a clue , it would be lonely.

Dr Mike Popovich

austin said...

Canadians are not as stupid as politicians like to think and this right here is one of the biggest reasons why so many people are sick of politics. Every single party been bought by different big business intrests.

Anonymous said...

The Libs took our campaign donations and did nothing. How much is the insurance industry paying for this privilege?

The Globe is running a multi day feature on the retirement funding crisis so the Libs read the paper and try to jump on a hot political topic.

HL

Anonymous said...

Again with the "hate on" for the life insurance industry.

I have read your columns carefuly and you never really explain why you are so mad at the life insurance industry.

Why are you mad at them and not the banks or the stock brokers?

Fillibluster said...

Anonymous:

You claim to read the columns carefully?

What part of this don't you understand?

"The life insurance industry have proven themselves to be up to no good, when they successfully lobbied the Harper government to eliminate income trusts in order to lessen their competition for the synthetic investment wares of the life insurance companies."

Anonymous said...

What is "synthetic" about segregated funds and annuities?

It is the insurance company part of pensions that is working.

The same can not be said for other parts of pensions.

Why is it not the government that is to blame for the decision?

kitt said...

Dr Mike Popovich, if you had a clue you'd just be playing with it. You old Reformatory.

And what was discussed at this forum??? Oh right, Oct 26th is in the future. Good thing all these future tells know what Liberals have said to the Insurance companies. And the Liberal leader wants to revive the Income trusts for Canadians. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

Dr Mike said...

kitt

Nice talking to you too.

"Reformatory", what does that mean??

I voted PC most of my life until the Reform party took us out thanks to Peter McKay---boo to him for that one.

I have voted Liberal since the 2006 trust massacre & have fought on their behalf since that time because they have offered to help the trust investor who was pissed on by the Harper Conservatives for no good reason other than because these same insurance companies wanted it so.

Excuse me for being a bit jaded when I see these same Insurance companies on the Liberal panel.

These companies are only in it for themselves & don`t give a flying fig for us , the small guy pensioner.

I question the Liberal sanity in not including some of the 72% of Canadians who do not have a company or gov`t pension plan.

Forgive me again for being a realist but when you put the fox in the henhouse with the chickens , the poor old chickens are not going to win.

Have a nice day kitt.

Good talking to you.

Dr Mike

Fillibluster said...

Kitt said:

"Oh right, Oct 26th is in the future. Good thing all these future tells know what Liberals have said to the Insurance companies."

It would appear to me that the Liberals have already capitulated to the insurance industry by allowing their industry lobby group to plaster their "logo" all over the agenda for Monday's meeting. So whose agenda is it. The industry's, the Liberals or Canadians? Three guesses.

Meanwhile you shouldn't be so quick to assume that the Liberals will even be given a chance to speak at this event!

Ha ha ha.....except it isn't the least bit funny. This merely demonstrates how compromised the Liberals are willing to be when they host such an event in the House of Commons, supposedly the people's House......that occasionally gets "rented out" to commercial interests.

What's next? The Liberal's Forum on Gun Control sponsored by Smith & Wesson.

How do you spell CONFLICT? How do you spell COMMERCIALLY COMPROMISED?

Brent Fullard

disability insurance said...

I don't quite get how you're being affected by this "suspicious" forum. So what that the whole thing is a one big commercial. Nobody cares...

Lorne

Dr Mike said...

Disability Insurance

That is the problem with Canadians , nobody cares & those that do are ridiculed by the special interest groups that are running the whole show in Ottawa.

Unless Canadians get off their collective asses & take a good look at who is running the show , then democracy is as good as lost.

Dr Mike Popovich