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’ ‘ i a ~wx1‘eruoo cummcu - Wednesday, December :2. 2012 MR! ERIE “ 'I l DRINKING WATS " , . Source *1 in. ~ SOURCE PROTECT“) _. PROTECTION . ‘ ‘ ‘ _ ; _____,__, Ic’rmfiorim" REGION 1 at?" " . ‘ I ’ We... , if a I _ i ‘ Public consultation ~‘ ~â€" . - , 4... a m ' , ~-~ Proposed Drinking Water ' CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn (right) discusses the benefits of defined benefit pension sou rce PrOteCtlon PIa n plans last Tuesday night. Sitting next to him are Mike Robinson (far left) and John Pierce of the . Ontario Municipal Employee Retirement System (OMERS). “smmto for the Grand River watershed P . f (H You are invited to read and comment on the Proposed Drinking Water Source enSlon Drum scusses Protection Plan for the Grand River watershed. The goal of the plan is to protect . . . the sources of municipal drinking water, t blll f OMERS The Proposed Plan was prepared under the Ontario Clean Water Act for the sus alna 0 Lake Erie Region Source Protection Committee. . . . . Allis nelson l , , “ ' The Proposed Plan Includes changes made to the Draft version that was sub- mamnkl, “a” rgoptégetgtmg 31:1: 3220;; 3:31;» And Why Show“ ‘ ject to public consultation in September. Following the current consultation periâ€" m cent of Waleflmrs $156-mil- The OM ERS represema_ od. the Proposed Source Protection Plan will be submitted to the Ministry of the he Ontario president of lion budget. ‘ lives used the evening as an Environment for approval. the Canadian Union of The OMERS plan has opportunity to outline their Public Employees come under attack in recent plan to bring the pension WW; believes every Ontarian months as it currently sits in back into a surplus position I identifies vulnerable areas where drinking water sources face a risk should have access to a well- a deficit position and is over the next 10 to 15 years. of contamination, funded pension when they expected to reach $l0-bil- Across the province, 947 I identifies significant threats to drinking water sources, and ”a" “on by "“3 end of this year. emPl°Yers ranging {mm _ . outlines policies and rams ‘0 reduce the risk sed by si niflcant About 60 per cent of Tufts argued the system is municipalities like Waterloo ‘ th t d ‘ prog fr I I . po 9 ' workers have no pension, he no longersustainable. to small lO-person shops tea 5' an O prevent new ones om oping. said. forcing many to retire “in the past 10 years the participate in the program. W into poverty and become a deficit has doubled and Robinson explained. . ' bigger burden to the tax sys- ' we're seeing an exponential He acknowledged the The plan covers these 6""le “'8'" systems. tern. growth curve as the shortfall plan would reach the mule-mm Six NationsoftheGnnd Mâ€" “Taxpayers are on the grows." Tufts said. He out- sic-billion deficit mark in WNW 0015“an hook for this crisis," said lined the OMERS shortfall 2012 but said the pension’s dilemma! - L 1",.“ _ Grand Fred Hahn last Tuesday for the region has nearly a sts had predicted that City ynden Grand“ Valley Militant â€" Airport, Tmofm -Waidemar night as part of a pension reached $220 million â€" $20 to be the case. The major MtPleasant. park, St. “0'99 , TWP “(WW _ forum co-hosted by Coun. million in Waterloo alone â€" cause of the enormous ‘ MW of Hammond _ Dunnvilie Elora. Fergus Karen Scian and Mike and that shortfall will need deficit was the 2008 financial County Oxford _ Brigh 1."th." hue-"h". _ Magreehan, former chair of to be made up through crash, and through a process Piattsviilz' t. Drurnbo, Morsville 0' the now-defunct Citizens‘ increased taxes and known as actuarial smooth- m i ' | _ _ Budget'llisk Force. decreased services ing, the losses or gains of Conest “‘20" C A” Brunz‘hton. W” lanfmmll “The real pension crisis is The system simply isn't any particular year are F I 09:;waer l I 5' T 0| l of Dr that most Canadians don't “ spread out over the next five . h'll rg, P â€" I have enough or“ pension ‘0 In the past years. meaning the group Maryhill, Mary 3 WW Mb“ New W” retire on.” he was still feeling the effects of W' Rosevulle, 5“ CW“ 7MP “M East ' WW Hahn was joined by Bill onears t _ the crash four years down Wellesley. West Montrose and the Township of My... - Dundalk “In, of the advocacy group ( OM ERS) deficit the road. "*9?“ ”’53" Sim“ ”M09 Township “W" North ' Fair Pension forAll aswell as ~ has doubled and “This is in place so con- W Hamburg, MW: WI" Mike Robinson and John , . tribution rates can remain Elmira. Kitchener. St. Jacobs. St. Agatha Pierce or the Ontario Munic- we re seezng expo- stable and are not volatile," ' and Waterloo ipal Employee Retirement ~ n said Pierce OMERS vice . nennal growth . i . - System to provrde a panel president of publicaffairs m discussion and weigh pros 43mm The group still has The Proposed Source Protection Plan is available: :nd cons of the taxpayer} -Ru'r PensionsforAll fiiblllflaiicnhassets. W; I on the lnternet at mmrcewaterxa unded OMERS D an. 0 l S 0 8 genth . at the head of," of the GRCA. 400 Clyde Rd., Camb'idge which the city is a member. sustainable in the long‘term. through investment returns. Scian told the crowd the he continued, due largely in Some of those assets include WWI.“ meeting was organized as a part to retirees living longer. the Confederation Bridge in I Email: commentsOsouIcewatema way of getting the different Employees pay 15 per cent Prince Edward island and . pm 5196214945 sides of the argument into of their salary for about 30 the golfing chain Golf Town. I” Martin Keller SourceProtection mm", Manager the same room to have a years then collect 70 per The other third is realized ' (/0 Grand River Conservation Authority . rational, levelheaded discus- cent of their final five years through member contribu- sion and to avoid the rheto- for another30years lions. POBox 729' “CW9 Rd..Cambrid9eONNlR 5W6 ric that has accompanied He said an employee To return the plan to a ' the issue. earning 543.000 will have surplus. OMERS intends to The OMIERS defined- submitted about $50,000 to generate net returns Deadline for comments is wedneSday' Jan' 16' 201 3 benefit plan is made up of his or her pension over their between seven and II per _______________â€"___ about 400,000 people in working years. but will col- cent on its investments. it Ontario who are currently loci almost a million dollars has temporarily increased " ‘\\ working or retired. For every during their retirement. The contribution rates from M“ dollar a retiree receives for average ()MERS pension is 20l lâ€"2013. and temporarily / Gm“ ”WV Conservation “M their pension, roughly 30 about $28,000. he added. reduced benefits starting in 400 Clyde Road, Cambridge cents comes from contribu- “Some people are 100 2013 for plan members who (519) 621-2761 lions. with employees and years old and have been col- leave their employer before employers contributing 15 lectlng for 40 years.” he said. being eligible for retirement. cents each. drawing an angry response Over the past eight years. - W.- ~ the city ammofttwmorethan thematoofretum for . employs about 650 ()MERS l00 members of the audi~ OMERS investments is 7.48 Find OUt "1 ore at WWW.SOUI’C€’i’Vd tEI’.C8 members and paid $3.7 mil- once, one of whom shouted per cent.