Stephen Harper has 'head in the sand' about Ontarian's retirement savings

The Ontario Government is fighting back against what it's calling "political games" on the part of the federal government.

On Friday, federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver sent a letter to Queen's Park, rejecting the province's request for Ottawa's help administering it's new pension plan.

Ontario's associate Minister of Finance Mitzie Hunter said she's unhappy with Ottawa's lack of co-operation.

"To see that Stephen Harper is looking at the pension security of Ontarians and playing political games with it is quite frankly disappointing," she said.

"Retirement savings is just the latest area where Harper has buried his head in the sand about future challenges".

Ontario will find a way to move forward with the pension plan with, or without, the federal government, Hunter noted.

"The federal government is refusing to recognize the need for people to achieve a secure retirement future," she continued.

"[They have] a tradition of co-operation with Quebec in terms of sharing information between the CPP and QPP and we would expect the same spirit of co-operation here in Ontario."

Plan will 'damage the economy'

The Conservatives have made no secret of their opposition to an Ontario pension plan, but the Federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver upped the ante Thursday with his letter warning Ottawa will not co-operate with the province in any way.

Under the Ontario pension plan, which was approved in legislation in April, workers will have to contribute 1.9 per cent of their pay, to a maximum of $1,643 a year, which employers will have to match for every employee.

The mandatory contributions will be phased in over two years, starting with larger companies in 2017 before expanding to include small operations like convenience stores and dry cleaners.