Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's constituency office has been "occupied" by a small group of union members who are protesting the government's decision to not expand the Canada Pension Plan.
The Ontario Federation of Labour issued a release indicating that a group of union and community members, including OFL president Sid Ryan, had occupied the minister's office on Friday morning.
Inside Flaherty's constituency office, it was business as usual as of the noon hour.
A staff member who answered the phone told CTV.ca that the protest began sometime after 10 a.m. and involved about 20 people.
In advance of a meeting with his provincial counterparts, Flaherty said his government would not enhance CPP -- for now -- but will try to lobby provinces to support a plan that would allow private companies and the self-employed to pool their resources for low-cost pensions.
Flaherty said the ministers "will review work that has been done on a range of options related to CPP, but there are no quick or easy solutions on CPP."
In a news release issued Friday morning, Ryan said the plan to push a private-sector solution amounts to "nothing more than a glorified savings plan for Canadians."
The OFL leader said history has many examples of private companies that have let down their employees when it comes to pensions.
Ryan said the finance minister "wants us to have faith that big business can deliver on retirement security. Nortel pensioners and millions of other average Canadians had faith and now look at them at the end of their work lives."
The same release from the OFL indicates that "updates from the occupation will be going out regularly."
Flaherty is currently out of the province.
His press secretary, Annette Robertson, told CTV.ca that the minister regularly meets with constituents who ask to do so. But the people occupying the office did not make that request on Friday.
With files from The Canadian Press
