Statement by Minister of Finance, Public Service Secretariat
Honourable Loyola Sullivan
December 6, 2006

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform this house of our government�s commitment to our public servants and inform you that my department has initiated a borrowing program which will put the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) on solid footing. A $400 million infusion to stabilize the plan will be made this month. A further payment is expected before the end of the fiscal year.

This financial commitment, Mr. Speaker, is something we have been preparing to do for some time but have been awaiting the results of the Newfoundland and Labrador Nursing Union�s ratification vote. We are pleased to announce that their members have voted 76 per cent in favour to accept the collective agreement we negotiated, and in turn, we will keep our promise to PSPP to put their pension plan back on stable ground.

Mr. Speaker, just last March we invested $1.953 billion into the Teachers Pension Plan. Today�s borrowing rates are substantially lower than they have been historically and we felt that this is indeed the right time to move ahead to do the same for the members of the PSPP.

Because of the prudent financial moves by this administration, we have received credit rating upgrades from all three rating agencies in the past year. These upgrades allow us to borrow money at a lower rate. We have just borrowed for a term of 30 years at a rate of 4.5 per cent. I have never witnessed a lower rate.

I�m happy to say that our public service employees will no longer have to worry about the stability of their retirements, and this government can continue to reap the benefits of better credit ratings by addressing our significant unfunded liability, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to take the opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to say that this government remains committed to making sound financial decisions. We have to stop passing the burden on to the backs of our children and our grandchildren and look ahead to a day when this province will be in a significantly better financial situation.

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