Public figures and industry experts are sometimes known for using purposefully vague language to avoid controversy—so it’s refreshing when they tell it like it is. Here are some examples.

Kathleen Wynne, Ontario premier, on Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s opposition to the proposed Ontario Retirement Pension Plan:

“If he doesn’t believe that the Canada Pension Plan should be enhanced, then he should move out of the way and let Ontario do its work.”—Comments made after a high school speech on May 5 in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Fred Vettese, chief actuary with Morneau Shepell, on the future of employer-sponsored pension plans:

“The job seeker who is attracted by a risk-free retirement that includes generous early retirement benefits may not be the bold, entrepreneurial risk taker you might be looking for. If you are one of the 10% that still offer a pension plan and you want to use it as a differentiator, make sure the design features are aligned with the company’s values and philosophy.” —From a March 26 Benefits Canada online column

Paula Allen, vice-president, research and integrative solutions, with Morneau Shepell, on mental health in the workplace:

“Employers are required to understand on-the-job physical risks to their employees, and communicate and manage those risks. It is as much in their interest to do so with mental health risks.”—Comments made in a May 5 Benefits Canada online article

Lawrence Schembri, deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, on Canadian pension funds:

“They are the Warren Buffetts of the financial system. In other words, pension funds can more easily bear market and liquidity risk and earn the associated risk premiums because they can diversify these risks over time.”—From a May 15 speech to the Pension Investment Association of Canada in Quebec City

Jeffrey MacIntosh, professor at the University of Toronto and columnist at the Financial Post, on the recently proposed amendments to Canada’s securities market trading rules:

“In today’s highly regulated world, commercial parties will often find that they can best achieve their aims by bending the ear of the regulator to an imaginative and quixotic tale nominally grounded in serving the public interest. It is the job of regulators to resist these siren calls.”—From a May 20 Financial Post column

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