The pension plan funding difficulties of cash strapped companies have been the focus of significant media attention over the last few months. It is no surprise that two recent decisions of the Quebec Superior Court have gained considerable attention. This FTR Now looks at the AbitibiBowater proceedings and the court’s consideration of a company’s ability…
Practice Area: Pension, Benefits & Executive Compensation
Ontario Budget 2009
INTRODUCTION Yesterday, Ontario’s Minister of Finance introduced the 2009 Ontario Budget in the Legislature, which is optimistically titled “Confronting the Challenge: Building Our Economic Future”. The Budget aims to kick-start the battered Ontario economy through its twin centrepieces: tax reform and infrastructure spending. While much attention will be focused on the Budget’s proposal to harmonize…
2009 Winter issue
FOCUS ON WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY Use WSIB experience rating to achieve positive outcomes for your organization LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS Investigations in the workplace: proceed, but with care Responding to difficult economic times PROFILE Safety first Download PDF
Federal Budget 2009
INTRODUCTION Acknowledging that Canada is “passing through an extraordinary time”, including the twin threats of a global financial crisis and deepening economic recession, the federal Government tabled its 2009 budget (the “Budget”), “Canada’s Economic Action Plan”, in the House of Commons yesterday. The Budget is designed to improve access to financing, strengthen Canada’s financial system,…
Towards Meaningful Solvency Funding Relief
Last month, the Ontario Government announced that it will be implementing regulations to the Pension Benefits Act aimed at providing solvency funding relief to pension plan sponsors in Ontario. As set out in Hicks Morley’s FTR Now: Ontario Government Announces Pension Funding Relief, the exact details of what form the regulatory relief will take are…
Ontario Government Announces Pension Funding Relief
Spurred on by the current economic unrest, the Ontario Government announced yesterday that it will introduce legislation in early 2009 to provide pension plans with solvency funding relief. Following on the heels of the release of the Report of the Expert Commission on Pensions, the proposed temporary solvency relief is intended to better ensure the…
Ontario Expert Commission on Pensions Releases Report
The Ontario Expert Commission on Pensions (the “Expert Commission”) released its much anticipated Report “A Fine Balance” to the public today. The full Report is 222 pages and contains 142 recommendations “for reforming and reinvigorating Ontario’s pension system”. HIGHLIGHTS OF KEY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS New Regulatory Regime Recommended The Expert Commission recommended that the current…
New Framework Proposed for the Regulation of Multi-Jurisdictional Pension Plans
On October 21, 2008, the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (“CAPSA”) released the Proposed Agreement Respecting Multi-Jurisdictional Pension Plans (the “Proposed Agreement”), which aims to provide a clearer, more detailed framework for the administration and regulation of pension plans that have members in more than one Canadian jurisdiction (“multi-jurisdictional pension plans”, or “MJPPs”). If…
No Surplus Distribution Required on Partial Termination of Federally-Regulated Pension Plans
In its much anticipated decision in Cousins v. Canada (Attorney General) and Marine Atlantic Inc. (“Marine Atlantic”), the Federal Court of Appeal has concluded that the federal Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 (the “PBSA”) does not require a proportionate distribution of surplus on a partial termination of a defined benefit (DB) pension plan. The Federal…
Tax-Free Savings Accounts: Potential Opportunities for Employer-Sponsored Retirement and Savings Plans
In the February 2008 Budget, the federal Minister of Finance announced a new initiative – tax free savings accounts (TFSAs). If the proposed legislation is passed, these new savings vehicles will be available to Canadian taxpayers starting in 2009. Key Features of a TFSA Canadian taxpayers will be allowed to contribute up to $5000 each…