Canadian Salaried Retirees of Chrysler Canada
What is Bill C-501?
New Democrat Member of parliament John Rafferty (Thunder Bay - Rainy River) introduced Private Member's Bill C-501 in March of 2010 which would grant "secured" status to pension funds during bankruptcy proceedings and restructuring. Rafferty's Bill would secure underfunded poension plans by giving them priority over other creditors following any bankruptcy or restructuring process.
2011-02-03 - Feb update Bill C-501 TORIES KILL NDP EFFORTS TO REACH COMPROMISE ON PENSIONS Motion could have protected banks, secured pensions during bankruptcy proceedings
The following are excerpts from a press release from MP John Rafferty:
OTTAWA - Today, Conservative MPs refused to grant their consent to a New Democrat motion in the House of Commons that would have allowed a compromise deal to be reached on Bill C-501, to secure pensions and severance pay for millions of Canadian workers when their employers entered restructuring or bankruptcy proceedings. It would also have shielded banks from any risk associated with the proposed change.
"The majority of Conservative MPs voted against C-501 at Second Reading because they said putting pension deficits at the top of the creditors list would have posed too great a risk to our banks and primary lenders," said John Rafferty (Thunder Bay - Rainy River) the New Democrat MP who tabled the bill.
"The motion I tabled in the House today would have allowed the Industry Committee to consider a compromise amendment to the bill that would have eliminated the risks to banks and secured creditors entirely while ensuring that pensions and severance pay of millions of workers was more secure in bankruptcy proceedings. Sadly, the Conservatives would not consent to the motion and thus rejected the very idea of reaching a compromise on the matter."
Rafferty said the Conservatives' determination to defeat what was a fairly benign motion defied basic common sense. "It's hard to imagine Stephen Harper's Conservatives opposing a motion to allow a compromise on a bill to help millions of Canadians - but they did just that," he said. "Mr. Baird in particular should have gone out of his way to encourage negotiation and a compromise on this issue given what transpired at Nortel. Instead, he basically vetoed the idea of reaching a compromise." "There is a strong moral case that the pensions and severance pay of workers should come before banks and large financial institutions during corporate restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings," he said. "It passed one vote already, so MPs clearly see the importance and necessity of such reform."