UNA President Heather Smith hails decision of Prentice government to drop Bills 9 and 10

Alberta Premier Jim Prentice deserves credit for his decision today to abandon Bills 9 and 10, which would have attacked the retirement security of most members of United Nurses of Alberta and tens of thousands of other Alberta working people in both the public and private sectors.

In the announcement this morning that the current session of the Alberta Legislature would be prorogued, the government’s news release specifically noted that Bill 9, the Public Sector Pension Plans Amendment Act, and Bill 10, the Employment Pension (Private Sector) Plans Amendment Act would die on the order paper.

In addition, the announcement included the commitment that “Bills 9 and 10 will not be introduced under the Prentice government.”

“Premier Prentice made the right decision in abandoning this harmful and unfair legislation brought forward by the previous government,” said UNA President Heather Smith.

“This is an important policy change that acknowledges the public sector pension boards were already taking effective measures that will quickly ensure the sustainability of the plans, which was the justification for Bills 9 and 10.”

“Today’s announcement shows that citizens can have a powerful effect on public policy if they organize and forcefully make their concerns known to legislators,” Smith said.

“We are grateful to our members, those of other unions and many non-union workers as well for their hard work and commitment to protecting the rights of working people to enjoy a secure retirement,” she said. “Today’s announcement is a victory for all Albertans.”

“UNA advocates for income security on retirement for all Albertans,” Smith said. “It could have been an even better day if this government had taken the next step and moved toward a more comprehensive retirement income plan, as is being proposed by Ontario and some other provincial governments.”