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Finance Minister Bill Morneau had every reason to look pleased with himself Monday as he helped Ontario’s government out of a pickle while managing to avoid a contentious national argument.

After just a few hours behind locked doors with his provincial counterparts, Morneau was able to declare that Canada’s pension crisis had been solved. Canadian seniors, allegedly condemned to hunger and degradation on the Canada Pension Plan maximum of $13,100 will now be able to “retire in dignity” on the new maximum of $17,478, once the payments start a few years from now.

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Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa was demonstrably pleased at the outcome. “Today, this federal government has shown great leadership and great desire to do something of great benefit for our young people,” he proclaimed.

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The agreement saved his province from introducing its own Ontario-only pension scheme, a bad idea that would have started siphoning payments from workers and employers just before the next provincial election, forcing Premier Kathleen Wynne to seek voter support while paycheques were being reduced, gas prices were rising thanks to the impending new carbon tax, and hydro rates were taking another step into the stratosphere. By convincing the other provinces to sign onto an enhanced CPP instead, Morneau enables Wynne to cancel the plan.