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He is slapping the face of Ontarians by taking the action he’s doing today, and that is uncalled for. The Harper government will not work with us in fighting the underground economy or ensuring that benefits are channeled to those in need. And now the Harper government won’t work with us to see that the ORPP is carried out as efficiently as possible

The Ontario government would have been happy to pay for the agency’s work, as it does for other things Canada Revenue does on its behalf. It’s going to need a whole separate provincial bureaucracy instead.

“He is slapping the face of Ontarians by taking the action he’s doing today, and that is uncalled-for,” Sousa said. “The Harper government will not work with us in fighting the underground economy or ensuring that benefits are channeled to those in need. And now the Harper government won’t work with us to see that the ORPP is carried out as efficiently as possible.”

Refusing is an “unprecedented” slight, Sousa said, his junior minister specifically responsible for the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, Mitzie Hunter, at his side. They stood behind a podium with a sign hanging from it reading “Standing Up For Ontarians.” They conjured the ghost of Jim Flaherty, quoting him saying that retirement security is important and government should try to get along.

Oliver was even a jerk about how he issued the refusal, Sousa said. “I didn’t even see the letter. I had to read it in your papers,” he told reporters.

Provincial and federal governments of different parties don’t have to agree on each other’s policies, Sousa said, but they should co-operate where it makes sense.

Hunter alleged the federal refusal is part of a pattern of short-term thinking about long-term problems, including on things like environment policy. Young workers are the least likely to have workplace pensions, she pointed out.