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Even so, any current DC workplace plan that leaves it up to employees to opt in, with employers matching their contributions, will end up forcing a mandatory four per cent employee premium plus another four per cent from employers.

How the accumulated funds are to be invested is also still up in the air. Ontario made a lot of noise about how the new pension plan administration corporation will be run at arm’s length from the government. But on closer examination of the legislation governing it, “arm’s length” seems to apply only in the T-rex sense — the investment fund in easy reach of the government’s jaws even with a locked elbow.

The corporation’s defining operatives are to “administer” and “invest” the funds as a trustee — so far so good. However, it is also required to “exercise such other powers and perform such other duties as may be provided under this Act or any other Act.” This wording may seem fairly non-problematic; after all, any creation of government must surely have to follow the laws of the land. But compare that objective with a key one given to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board: “to invest its assets with a view to achieving a maximum rate of return, without undue risk of loss.”

The contrast is stark. The CPP Board is told to seek the maximum return for pensioners, within reasonable limits, while the ORPP Board must do as it’s told. Without being a conspiracy theorist, it means the door is wide open to Ontario telling its so-called arm’s-length board where to invest the money with little regard to financial sensibilities.