Pension reform talks are continuing in New Brunswick but teachers across the province may prove to be a stumbling block.
The New Brunswick government now says it may be willing to work with teachers outside of the shared-risk model that has been imposed on others.
Finance Minister Blaine Higgs says he has always been open to alternative pension models, as long as they meet the goals of his reforms.
Higgs’ department is currently in talks with teachers about their pensions but the teachers have countered the government’s plan and staged rallies this week to push their proposal.
Higgs admits teachers may end up outside of the shared risk-model, or with a hybrid model.
“We’re willing to have discussions on a proposal that met the core principles and we believe that it’s possible, but we don’t want to throw out good elements of any proposal,” says Higgs.
“If we mix and match, then that should be a good thing.”
His comments come a day after the Alward Tories introduced a bill to convert MLA pensions to shared-risk, which lessens the financial burden on the government.
Opposition Liberals say the shared-risk model was imposed on others and is asking the government why it didn’t negotiate with them.
“I suspect they could have come up with a solution that everybody could have agreed on and maybe it would have been under the defined-benefits model that they had,” says New Brunswick Liberal MLA Roger Melanson.
Retired civil servants have already seen their pensions switched to shared-risk and they are still fighting the change.
They have asked the superintendent of pensions not to register their new plan. An answer is expected next week.
“We will need to have our lawyer and our legal team review that answer and assess what impact that’s going to have on what our next step in the strategy is going to be,” says Clifford Kennedy of Pension Coalition NB.
Retirees haven’t ruled out challenging the pension reforms in court.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Andy Campbell
