Marilyn Gladu's pension protection bill has cleared another hurdle.
Last week, the House of Commons Finance Committee unanimously passed and amended Bill C-228, introduced by Sarnia-Lambton's MP in May.
Gladu said it's great news for people who have worked hard their whole lives and deserve to have their pensions.
"It'll come back to the house at report stage and the third reading and then it goes off to the senate, assuming that it passes at every stage, which I'm fairly confident it will."
Gladu said the bill will come up for debate in January.
"And then it will go probably to the senate I would think by March, and then come out of there by the fall."
Gladu said everyone's seen examples of when a company went bankrupt and the workers did not get their severance or their pension and got 70 cents on the dollar, like what happened with Sears.
"So, my bill tables a document to show the state of funds, whether they're solvent or not, it gives a mechanism to top up the fund to fix it so people don't get in trouble, and in case of bankruptcy, it assigns a priority ahead of secured creditors for pensioners and severance."
The Association of Canadian Pension Management (PIAC) has criticized the bill, saying it would be harmful for defined benefit pension plan sponsors.
Gladu said defined benefit plans have been on the decrease in Canada over the last number of years, and the financial institutions are constantly coming with this message.
"In 2005, they said exactly the same thing when they tried to increase the priority for giving people salaries up to $2,000, and there was no adverse effects. So, I think banks are in the business of lending [and] they are certainly more able to survive the bankruptcy of one company than an individual that's counting on that pension for the rest of their life."
In September, the PIAC co-signed an open letter calling for parliamentarians to block the bill. It was also signed by the Canadian Bankers Association, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters.
