Premier Kathleen Wynne stresses a new Ontario pension plan to be unveiled in the spring budget is “not a tax,” but mandatory savings for retirement.

Fighting back against what she deemed “attacks coming at us” from the federal Conservative government, which opposes the scheme, Wynne said Ontarians need more for their golden years.

“This is not money that goes into the provincial treasury,” the premier told reporters Tuesday as she unveiled a new technical advisory group to help design the pension plan.

“Taxation implies that this is somehow money that goes into the provincial treasury to be spent by government. It’s money that goes into plans, money that’s then invested in the economy and then creates a return for people in the future,” she said.

“This is not a tax. This is about an investment in the future. It is money that will go into a plan that will allow people to retire more securely.”

Keith Ambachtsheer, director of the Rotman International Centre for Pension Management and a member of Wynne’s advisory group, said the plan would not be administered by Queen’s Park.

“It’s not the government that’s going to do it. It’s going to be an arms-length organization that’s going to do it. That’s the way you need to think about it,” said Ambachtsheer.

“Canada has created the best pension institutions in the world and many of those were created right here in this province and in this city, so the idea that we don’t know how to do this is just silly,” he said.

Others helping to design the plan are: Royal Bank of Canada corporate director David Denison; CARP (formerly known as the Canadian Association of Retired Persons) vice-president Susan Eng; Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan vice-president Melissa Kennedy; Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan president and CEO Jim Keohane; and Morneau Shepell executive chair Bill Morneau.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa said because Ottawa is refusing to enhance Canada Pension Plan benefits, which max out at $12,000 a year, there is a need for people to save more for retirement.

“What we’re suggesting is that people should be investing more to protect their livelihood in the future,” said Sousa.

After Wynne announced former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin as a pension advisor, federal Conservative junior finance minister Kevin Sorenson warned it would “disadvantage Ontario’s businesses with higher payroll taxes, killing jobs and deterring investment.”

“Employees simply can’t afford a smaller paycheque in this fragile global economy. The Liberal government of Paul Martin slashed transfers to Ontario at record levels, unlike our government that is increasing support to Ontario,” Sorenson said last Wednesday.

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