CPP boost 'will help create jobs', Federation of Labour says

The planned increases to the Canada Pension Plan will benefit the economy and help create jobs, says the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour, in a newsrelease directly aimed to counter criticism from the St. John's Board of Trade.

• Delay CPP expansion approval, St. John's Board of Trade asks Dwight Ball

"It will make a particular difference for women, who experience high rates of seniors' poverty, and young people who will experience the full benefit of the phased-in expansion over the course of their working lives," the labour group said in a statement Thursday.

The statement comes two days after theBoard of Trade asked Dwight Ball to try and delay the CPP approval process set to be finalized on Friday by the federal government and all provinces except Quebec, calling the increases a "tax on jobs."

The approval will mean the average worker will begin paying $7 more a month in CPP contributions in 2019, with that rising to about $23 more a month by 2023.

Mary Shortall, the head of the Federation of Labour,said the Board of Trade's claimholds no water, calling it "fear mongering."

• What the CPP boost means for the average Canadian worker

"CPP contributions are not a tax.They are savings put aside in return for a pension benefit in retirement," she said.

"People with better pensions will have higher incomes and be able to spend more in their retirement."

The Board of Trade has not been alone in its criticism of the CPP contributions. Other business groups and the Conservative Party of Canada has also targeted the increases as detrimental to the economy.