FREDERICTON – It was standing room only at the Pension Coalition N.B. meeting Monday morning.
More than 100 retired public service workers came to hear their new lawyer go over the details of their case – against the province.
“We’re dealing with an older group, we’re dealing with an aging group, which brings to the surface just how important and pressing this case is,” said Toronto-lawyer Ari Kaplan.
Kaplan is representing the more than 13,000 retired public service workers angry about the changes to their pension plan.
He’s filed an application against the province and says the new act should include things like cost of living adjustments, and shouldn’t be decided without public input.
“The place for this to be debated is at the ballot box in the form of a referendum, because this specifically singles out pensioners, isolates them from the rest of the tax payers in the province, and ousts any relief available to them,” he said during the meeting.
Pensioners started protesting about the changes to their plan last year. They say the average retiree is over 70 years old, and has less than $22,000/year in income. With cost of living increases conditional, many pensioners say they can’t budget properly.
“We don’t have the opportunity now to go back and earn a living to contribute towards our retirement. And I don’t think it’s fair that the government can make these changes and make them retroactive once we’ve retired,” said Wendy Piercy.
The pension coalition will likely go before a judge in August. They’re asking the province pick up the tab on all legal costs.
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