Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the commission that reviewed our compensation recommended that we deal with this issue and I have no problem with this House considering the issue of pensions. I regret that commission did not make a recommendation on pensions, because I would point out that this House has already accepted most of the recommendations that commission made, and most of them will, of course, come into effect after the next election.
Mr. Speaker, in the 13th Assembly, we were faced with a difficult financial situation and we agreed to end the supplementary pension. We were cutting jobs and salaries and it was the right thing to do. Mr. Speaker, I am not opposed to considering pension plan changes but, Mr. Speaker, like other changes to our compensation, I think the pension changes should come into effect after the next election, a similar approach that we have taken with the recommendations that were made on our compensation.
The pension plan we ended was a so-called 3 percent plan. I know that people thought that was too rich. I think it is important that the public understand that Members did contribute to that pension, but the public still thought we did not contribute enough to justify a 3 percent pension.
The pension proposed today is a 2 percent pension. That is better than 3 percent, I think, in the eyes of the public. Mr. Speaker, I think I could personally go and justify to my constituents a 1 or a 1.5 percent pension, but I am having trouble with the 2 percent. If we cut the old one in half, I think we would be able to say that it was justified.
For those reasons, Mr. Speaker, I will have to vote against the bill in its current form. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.