Kenney Government Wants Control of Pension Funds to Pay the Rich
Outrage is growing over the UCP government scandal of handing over $6.5 billion of public funds to the owners of TC Energy as an equity stake and loan guarantees to build the Keystone XL pipeline south to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The imminent demise of that venture was hardly a secret when the billions in public money were handed over as a brazen gift to the rich, with U.S. President Biden now confirming its collapse. The Kenney government has used both legislation and most recently ministerial orders to seize control of public sector pension funds to give even greater control of workers' pooled social wealth to the global oligarchs to use what belongs to the working class by right in yet more "investment strategies" to pay the rich. Alberta public sector workers are not alone in confronting this problem of control over their pension money. How and where these pension funds are invested is a big issue in Canada and elsewhere. Pension funds are huge pools of social wealth that the working class has claimed through its work and belongs to workers by right. However the global oligarchs, using financial companies, in most cases exercise control and the power of decision over workers' pensions and saved money. These funds end up the hands of the global oligarchs to serve their narrow private interests all over the world in ways that favour them and not the people. Workers are demanding an end to this abuse of their money.
Workers' pension funds are being broadly used against the interests of the working class and nation-building such as to strengthen private ownership of medical labs and other health care facilities and production, public education and infrastructure. Ironically, workers and their allies are fighting for public ownership and human-centred control of all sectors of the health care system while their pension funds are being used to defeat their just cause. This must stop! Workers themselves through their independent collectives have the right to decide how their pension funds are invested to ensure this is done in ways that directly benefit nation-building, the working class and society. The fight over control of workers' pension funds is an important part of the struggle for a new direction for the economy, to stop paying the rich and increase investments in social programs. This forms part of the struggle for democratic renewal to empower working people and stay the hand of governments from issuing decrees that favour the global oligarchy.
This article was published in Article Link:   Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca |
The government is racking up big deficits borrowing money from the
financial oligarchy for its pay-the-rich schemes to guarantee the
profits of the oil oligarchs and other uses. At the same time, the
government says it has "no money" for health care, education and to
look after Albertans. It has also now seized total control over how
workers' pension funds are invested to finance its pay-the-rich
schemes.
Recently, Canadians have witnessed the devastating consequences of
pension investments in for-profit long-term care homes such as Revera
Inc. Long-term care homes including Revera have experienced an
extremely high rate of COVID-19 infections and deaths and have been
accused of diverting the money they receive from governments and
others into profits rather than the well-being of the seniors in their
care. PSP Investments, which controls the public sector pension funds
of federal workers, is the investment company that owns Revera.