The Canadian Auto Workers on Thursday decried a suggestion from Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty that the province's pension plan emergency fund isn't large enough to handle a possible collapse of GM's pension fund.

"I can't suggest to you how furious we are as an organization to suggest that our retirees won't be treated with decency and respect during this particular crisis," CAW president Ken Lawenza said during a news conference.

The best way to protect the pension plan, Lawenza said, is to keep the auto companies alive.

The CAW is encouraging all its retirees to attend a rally to press their case at Queen's Park on April 23.

GM's pension plan is underfunded by billions of dollars. The autoworkers said the province allowed GM's pension plan to carry on underfunded since the early 1990s.

Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan said Thursday that the provincial government will work with unions, companies and the federal government to address pension shortfalls.

Duncan said the province will not turn its back on pensioners. He also said the pension safety net has been underfunded for 30 years.

Available funds 'very, very modest,' premier says

McGuinty warned on Wednesday that the emergency fund for Ontario's pensions isn't large enough to cover autoworkers should GM or Chrysler go bankrupt.

"The money available in that is very, very modest," McGuinty said, noting the Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund has about $100 million in it — not nearly enough to cover the billions of dollars involved in the automakers' pensions.

"That comes nowhere near meeting any liabilities — for example, for the auto sector alone, to say nothing of all the other sectors."

The Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund has provided pensioners with up to $1,000 per month in case a pension plan fails to provide its full benefit, or any at all.