Finance Minister Dwight Duncan will be tabling the Government’s much-anticipated 2012 Budget at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon. The Budget comes on the heels of the Drummond Report, which was released in mid-February and which recommended sweeping reform measures aimed at increasing efficiencies within the broader public service and the delivery of a variety government programs….
Practice Area: Pensions, Benefits & Compensation
Hicks Morley Recognized by Chambers Global 2012
Hicks Morley is pleased to announce it has been named in the Chambers Global 2012: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a leading specialist practice for Employment & Labour and Pensions & Benefits in Canada. Sources of this publication comment that Hicks Morley is “a very prominent labour boutique – they have a great…
Enhanced Disclosures in Pension Plan Annual Statements
Under the Ontario Pension Benefits Act (“PBA”) pension plan administrators are required to provide annual statements to active plan members within six months of the plan year-end. With many plans having a December 30 or 31 year-end, a large number of administrators are now in the process of preparing statements for 2011. The PBA Regulations…
Québec Budget 2012
On March 20, 2012, the Quebec government introduced its 2012-13 Budget. As expected, the government is moving forward with the joint federal-provincial initiative to provide small business owners and their employees with access to large-scale, low-cost, professionally administered pension plans. Accordingly, the Budget introduces Voluntary Retirement Savings Plans (“VRSPs”), mandatory group pension plans that all…
The Drummond Report – Impact on the Broader Public Sector
On February 15, 2012, the Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services (the “Commission”) released its long-awaited, 543-page report (the “Report”, commonly referred to as the “Drummond Report”) which identifies sweeping reform measures aimed at increasing efficiencies within the broader public service (“BPS”). In our companion FTR Now, Drummond Commission Reports on Elementary and…
BPS Solvency Funding Relief Regulation Amended
On February 17, 2012, the Ontario government filed an amendment to O. Reg. 178/11 (Solvency Funding Relief For Certain Public Sector Pension Plans) under the Pension Benefits Act. O. Reg. 12/12 prescribes those plans that have successfully applied for and, are receiving, solvency funding relief under O. Reg. 178/11. The Regulation is now in force….
Super Priority for CCAA Charges Granted Preference Over Pension Deficits
On February 2, 2012, in On Re Timminco, the Commercial Court granted an order for “super priority” for an Administration Charge ($1,000,000) and Directors’ and Officers’ Charge ($400,000) in preference to other encumbrances, including pension deficits in Timminco’s pension plans (aggregate deficit is in excess of $11,000,000). Justice Morawetz found that federal insolvency legislation, specifically…
Federal Pooled Registered Pension Plan (“PRPP”) Legislation Referred to Committee
On February 1, 2012, Bill C-25, An Act relating to pooled registered pension plans and making related amendments to other Acts passed at Second Reading in the House of Commons, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Finance. As previously reported, Bill C-25 is new legislation implementing the framework for federally regulated PRPPs, and…
Federal Court of Appeal Interprets Term “Fixed or Ascertainable” for CPP Purposes
On November 16, 2011, the Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA”) released its decision in Minister of National Revenue v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario (“HMQ”). The FCAs decision overturns the January 17, 2011 decision of the Tax Court of Canada (“Tax Court”) in which it had held that per diem amounts paid…
Hicks Morley Named in 2012 Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide
Hicks Morley is pleased to announce it has been ranked as the leading law firm in the Labor Relations and Pensions category according to the 2012 Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada. Practice groups included in this category are Employment Law, Labour Relations (Construction Sector), Occupational Health & Safety, Pensions &…