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On Monday in Ottawa, a private member’s bill is expected to be tabled by NDP Hamilton Mountain MP Scott Duvall that will attempt to give corporate employees rock-solid protection for their pension benefits in the event their employer goes bankrupt. The bill, developed in the context of Sears Canada’s collapse with a $270-million pension fund shortfall, is good policy that is doomed to fail.

The bill will go nowhere, but that doesn’t mean Sears pensioners will not get what they are entitled to: full pension coverage. The Supreme Court appears to be on their side.

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Duvall’s effort will fail because the dominant Liberal/Conservative power duopoly will continue to waffle and fuddle through a policy change that should be a popular slam-dunk. As Duvall put it, Ottawa should fix bankruptcy laws that favour “big fat corporations and CEOs.”

Classic NDP rhetoric, but on this Duvall, union leaders and retiree advocates are right in principle. As Sears Canada clearly demonstrates, the pension benefits owed to employees of corporations represent savings and wages earned by employees. The value of those benefits should rank above the claims of all other creditors, which means pension plans are entitled to “super priority” over the claims of all other creditors and should get first crack at the assets of a bankrupt company.