Hicks Morley is delighted to once again be named “Most Frequently Recommended” as a leading firm in Labour Relations in the Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo and London areas, and “Consistently Recommended” as a leading firm in Labour Relations in the Ottawa area. The firm has also once again been named “Consistently Recommended” in Pension & Employee Benefits – Toronto and “Repeatedly Recommended”…
Practice Area: Pensions, Benefits & Compensation
Natasha Monkman Honoured with 2015 CPBI Regional Volunteer of the Year Award
Hicks Morley congratulates Natasha Monkman on receiving the CPBI Regional Volunteer of the Year Award. Natasha has served on the Canadian Pension & Benefits Institute’s Ontario Regional Council since 2011, providing outstanding support to the Ontario Region by serving on many volunteer committees and Chairing this year’s Program and Conference Committee. In doing so, she…
Ontario Passes PRPP Legislation
On May 26, 2015, Bill 57, the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act, 2015, passed Third Reading, as amended by the Standing Committee on Social Policy. The Bill, which is awaiting Royal Assent, will come into force on a date to be named by proclamation. As we previously reported, pooled registered pension plans (“PRPPs”) are a…
Federal Government Announces Possible Canada Pension Plan Expansion
On May 26, 2015, the federal government announced that it will conduct public consultations regarding potential changes to the Canada Pension Plan (“CPP”) to allow Canadians to voluntarily contribute more. No details were released at the time of the announcement. We will continue to monitor any developments regarding a possible expansion of the CPP.
Alberta Extends Deadline for Filing Amendments Relating to EPPA Reform
As previously reported, the pension reforms in British Columbia will come into force on September 30, 2015. Amendments to plans registered in British Columbia which reflect the new legislative requirements must be filed by December 31, 2015. While likely to follow suit, the Ontario pension regulator, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, has not yet…
Changes to the Federal Pension Investment Rules
In March 2015, the federal government published final regulations amending investment rules under the Pension Benefits Standards Regulations, 1985 (“Regulations”). These reforms apply to federally registered pension plans and to pension plans registered in provincial jurisdictions that have adopted Schedule III of the Regulations, as amended (the “Federal Investment Rules” or “FIR”). As we previously…
IPEBLA’s International Pension Lawyer Journal Publishes an Article by Susie Taing
Hicks Morley’s Susie Taing authored the article entitled, “Target Benefit Plans in Canada: Redistributing the Allocation of Risk“, in volume 83 of IPEBLA’s journal, International Pension Lawyer. In this article, Susie discusses how the Canadian pension industry has looked to the use of target benefit plans as a plan design to redistribute risk between the parties…
B.C. Pension Reforms Effective September 30, 2015
Effective September 30, 2015, British Columbia’s new Pension Benefits Standards Act (“PBSA”) and supporting regulation, the Pension Benefits Standards Regulation (the “New Regulation”), will come into force, at last implementing key legislative changes originally passed by the British Columbia government in the spring of 2012. Plans must be administered to reflect the new legislative requirements…
Ontario Budget 2015
On April 23, 2015, the Ontario Minister of Finance tabled the 2015 provincial Budget, “Building Ontario Up” (“Budget”), and Bill 91, Building Ontario Up Act (Budget Measures), 2015 (“Bill 91”), omnibus legislation designed to implement some of the proposals contained in the Budget. In this FTR Now, we highlight some of the key proposals that…
2015 Ontario and Federal Budgets Released
On April 23, 2015, the Ontario government tabled the 2015 provincial Budget, “Building Ontario Up” (“Budget”) and Bill 91, Building Ontario Up Act (Budget Measures), 2015 (“Bill 91”), supporting omnibus legislation designed to implement some of the proposals contained in the Budget. We are in the process of reviewing the Budget and Bill 91, and…