Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says he will listen to all suggestions for revamping the Canada Pension Plan, though he insists his first job is to "do no harm" to the existing system.
Speaking to reporters in Winnipeg on Monday morning, Flaherty said his cross-country consultation tour is giving him the opportunity to hear from all sorts of Canadians who hold differing views on the state of the national pension plan.
The plan is to listen to what they have to say before meeting with his provincial and territorial colleagues on the matter later this spring.
"This is a genuine consultation," Flaherty said. "I want to hear from everybody, I want to hear what they have to say. I want to hear all the arguments on all sides of the question."
And as he has been saying for some time, Flaherty insisted that all options are on the table. But he emphasized the need to maintain the strengths of the current system.
"We have a very strong Canada Pension Plan, it's the envy of the world, really," said Flaherty, who said it is projected to be sound for at least the next 75 years.
Flaherty said the government must work to maintain a "strong public pension system in Canada," while looking at ways of making it more effective for Canadians.
Asked to comment on whether he supports seeing Canadians contribute to pensions on a voluntary or mandatory basis, Flaherty said the government is not "prejudging" the issue.
Pension reform has become a matter of interest in Canada after many people lost major retirement savings during the recession and as statistics indicate that fewer Canadians are investing in private pension plans.
With files from The Canadian Press
