Practice Area: Pension, Benefits & Executive Compensation

Arbitrator Considers Employer’s Ability to Collectively Bargain Changes to Retiree Benefits

· 3 min read

In TRW Canada Ltd. and Thompson Products Employees’ Assn. (Retiree Benefits) (Re), collectively bargained changes to vested retiree benefits were found to have been made without lawful authority. The changes had been proposed by the employees’ association (“Association”), following a particularly hard round of collective bargaining, and after the employer threatened to close one of…

Carrigan v. Carrigan Estate Update: Ontario Pension Regulator Supports Common-Law Spouse’s Appeal

· 2 min read

As first discussed in our FTR Now of November 7, 2012 “Ontario Court of Appeal Decision Rewrites the Pension Pre-Retirement Death Benefit Regime“, the decision in Carrigan v. Carrigan Estate fundamentally altered the interpretation of spousal rights and priorities relating to payment of pre-retirement death benefits. The Court of Appeal awarded the pre-retirement death benefit payable under…

Supreme Court of Canada Weighs in on Plan Deficits and the Fiduciary Duty of Pension Plan Administrators in an Insolvency: Sun Indalex Finance, LLC v. United Steelworkers

· 15 min read

INTRODUCTION On February 1, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its highly anticipated decision in Sun Indalex Finance, LLC v. United Steelworkers, largely overturning the 2011 Ontario Court of Appeal decision. The Supreme Court upheld an expansive definition of the deemed trust under the Ontario Pension Benefits Act (“PBA”) and struck down a constructive…

Supreme Court of Canada Renders Decision in Indalex

· 1 min read

Today, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its long-awaited decision in Sun Indalex Finance, LLC v. United Steelworkers. The decision contains important findings with respect to, among other matters, the fiduciary duties of plan administrators, the reach of the statutory deemed trust provisions of the Ontario Pension Benefits Act, and the priority given to pension…

Supreme Court of Canada to Render Indalex Decision on February 1, 2013

· 2 min read

The Supreme Court of Canada has announced that it will render its decision in Sun Indalex Finance, LLC et al. v. United Steelworkers et al. (“Indalex“) on Friday, February 1, 2013. The appeal relates to a decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario that granted “super-priority” to pension funding deficits in a Companies’ Creditors…

Nortel Pension Plans Regulation Filed

· 1 min read

On January 15, 2013, the Ontario government filed O. Reg. 10/13, Nortel Pension Plans, made under the Pension Benefits Act (“Act”) In May 2011, the Act was amended to allow all pensioners of two specified Nortel Networks pension plans to transfer the commuted value of their benefits out of the plans. O. Reg. 10/13 prescribes…

Algoma Steel Pension Plan Regulation Amended

· 1 min read

On January 11, 2013, the Ontario government filed O. Reg. 7/13, amending O. Reg. 202/02 “Algoma Steel Inc. Pension Plans” made under the Pension Benefits Act. The regulation is effective as of the date of filing. It makes a number of housekeeping amendments to O. Reg. 202/02 by changing the name “Algoma Steel Inc.” to…

Regulatory Amendments Enacted to Allow CPPIB/PSPIB to Rely on Prudent Person Standard

· 1 min read

On December 14, 2012, Regulations Amending the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Regulations were registered. As previously reported and of particular note, this amendment repeals section 12 of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Regulations (“CPPIBR”) which established quantitative investment limits in respect of Canadian resource and real properties. The repeal of this section aligns…