CORNWALL, Ontario – The Cornwall Chamber of Commerce is sounding the alarm bells over concerns it has with a new provincial retirement pension plan.
The Kathleen Wynne government has announced it will expand the comparability rules under the proposed Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP). However, business owners remain concerned about the introduction of a new pension plan and the impact it would have on the cost of doing business.
The Cornwall chamber warns that in its current form, the ORPP will raise costs for the majority of businesses who operate in the province, including those employers that offer non-comparable plans like group RRSPs.
Recent survey data indicate that if faced with mandatory increased contributions under the ORPP, 44 per cent of businesses would reduce their current payroll or hire fewer employees in the future.
“We remain deeply concerned about the cumulative burden facing Ontario employers,” said Cornwall chamber president Denis Carr. “Rising electricity prices, the introduction of a cap and trade system, and the ORPP will further add to the cost of doing business in Ontario.
“This is why we, along with the Ontario chamber have asked the government to conduct and publicly release the results of an economic impact analysis of their proposed pension plan.”
Following considerable advocacy efforts by the Ontario chamber’s coalition of businesses and chambers, the government has committed to releasing a cost-benefit analysis of the ORPP before the end of the year.
“We will continue to work with government in order to ensure they have a full appreciation of the potential impacts of the ORPP,” said Carr
The Cornwall chamber is encouraged by the government’s decision to expand the definition of comparability under the ORPP to include some ‘Defined Contribution’ plans. It means employers already providing such pension plans will be exempt from contributing to the ORPP. The chamber also likes the longer phase-in period, one that will help many Ontario businesses transition into the plan.
