OTTAWA - Jean Charest is warning Prime Minister Stephen Harper not to abuse his majority in Parliament as an excuse for doing whatever he wants.
The Quebec premier, who was in Ottawa to promote Quebec's northern development plan, said Thursday "it's not a good idea" for the Harper government to act unilaterally on pension reform.
"In a democracy, you can't just say, 'I won, you lost, I'm going to do what I want'," Charest told a news conference called to discuss the Plan nord.
"It can't be done. Especially when it affects everyday lives and provincial budgets."
It's not the first time Ottawa has clashed with the provinces over unilateral changes since the May 2 federal election. Provinces were angered when changes were made to health-care funding and when the government rammed through its omnibus crime bill.
When challenged over a policy, or over its use of parliamentary closure to limit debate, the government has frequently defended its actions by pointing out that it won a majority.
The federal government has refused so far to say what it has in store for pension reform, only saying that the old age security program will be reviewed.
It hasn't clarified suggestions the retirement age will be raised from 65 years old to 67; that change would have financial consequences for the provinces, which would likely have to assume the difference for two additional years of benefit payments to the working-age poor.
"We were not aware the federal government intended to consider this so we'll see," Charest said. "We're not going to draw any conclusions because, like everyone else, we're waiting to see what the federal government will do."
Charest said he expected there would be discussions with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty because he didn't want to see a repeat of Ottawa's unileratal actions on health care.
"It's hard for us to understand why there would be no dialogue on this," Charest said of changes to old age security.
"Since when, in Canada, has there been no dialogue, no discussion, no exchange of information? I have trouble understanding why we're acting this way."
Christian Paradis, the prime minister's Quebec lieutenant, indicated he saw no urgency in sharing with the provinces because seniors won't be affected in the short term if any changes occur.
"I do not know why there's such a rush," said Paradis.
He didn't understand complaints about a lack of consultation because the federal government has guaranteed no short-term effects on seniors.
© The Canadian Press, 2012