The refusal of the Conservative finance minister to embrace pension reform being pushed by the provinces is exceptionally shortsighted.
It will result in long-term economic pain to support shortterm political opportunism. And it lets down future generations. Few public issues highlight generational divides quite like debates about the Canadian Pension Plan. Back when the plan was started, middle-class families could often survive comfortably and even own a home on one income. Jobs - many of them union - often came with private pensions. Middle-class parents expected their kids would do better than they did.
But those days are long gone, along with many of the private pension plans. Few Millennial and Generation X workers expect to achieve the prosperity their parents enjoyed.
Most workers are, out of necessity, focused on getting by, not on saving for the future.
The number crunchers recognize that unless something is done now, many middle-class workers will face a drastic drop in their standard of living when they are older. They will become the elderly poor, dependent on taxpayer-funded help to survive.
Evidence has already shown that Canadians are not - and will not - save enough voluntarily to pay for their golden years. Only a mandatory national program - paid for by workers and employers themselves - makes sense here.
The Conservatives claim now is not a good time to boost CPP contributions.
They are simply wrong.
