Canada's neglect of disabled and retired citizens

I had a nice break from blogging for St. Paddy's day and enjoyed my pint of Guinness and Potato Cakes at Ri Ra in mid town Atlanta. I was hoping that the luck of the Irish would bring some decision on the Canadian Settlement, so that we could at least see where we stand. But, alas, no such luck. There hasn't been any news from Koskie Minsky, the NRPC, or Ernst & Young so I think the judge is taking some extra time to ruminate.(If that's what judges do.)

Mr Harper, on the other hand, on his YouTube discourse, was happy to report that private Canadian pensions are sound, and better off than in any other country. I guess he doesn't have to worry about that, given the rich pension he will get when he leaves public office.

I think he has missed the point in terms of defined pensions. I realize that the business community is moving away from defined pensions and shifting the onus from the enterprise to the individual. That may be fine for all the young people who still have time and a chance to build a retirement fund for themselves (maybe), but for the people like me who are already retired, our defined pensions are part of the compensation we were promised by our employers. This government is turning a blind eye to the situation, and with a wink and a nod to private business, they are letting companies offload the pension burden without meeting their obligations.

It's even worse for disabled people. Who would have thought that Canada would let a company like Nortel provide minimal support to the ongoing welfare of their disabled employees? The fact that no laws exist to protect disabled employees from falling into poverty when their employer goes bankrupt verges on criminal. When will Canada waken up to this vile treatment of their most vulnerable citizens?

How come legalizing marijuana is more important to the people sending questions to PM Harper than ensuring disabled people and pensioners are paid what is owed to them?Having spent two decades in Canada, I thought I understood the national sentiment and expected a lot more from the people and the government, but these last 15 months have shifted my opinion a lot.