Today, the Supreme Court of Canada released its judgment upholding the Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Kerry (Canada) Inc. v. DCA Employees Pension Committee. The Supreme Court’s decision provides helpful guidance on a number of important issues, including the payment of plan expenses from a pension fund, the use of actuarial surplus under a…
Publication Type: Article
Kerry Decision to be Released this Friday August 7th
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has announced that its decision in Nolan v. Kerry (Canada) Inc. will be released at 9:45 a.m. on Friday August 7, 2009. It is anticipated that the SCC decision will provide much needed guidance on a number of important issues, including: the use of pension fund assets to pay…
Covert Surveillance Guidelines for Federally Regulated Employers
On May 27, 2009 the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada issued an OPC Guideline Document: Guidance on Covert Video Surveillance in the Private Sector. The Guideline Document outlines the Commissioners recommendations to private sector organizations engaging in covert surveillance in the course of commercial activity, as well as to federally regulated employers engaging…
Prior Approval for Commuted Value Transfers Now Required
Due to recent changes to the Regulations under the Ontario Pension Benefits Act, administrators of underfunded defined benefit pension plans registered in Ontario must in certain situations obtain the approval of the Superintendent of Financial Services of Ontario (the “Superintendent”) before transferring any part of the commuted value of a terminated member’s deferred pension or…
Defining “Employer” For Pension Funding Purposes
The Financial Services Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) recently released a decision that discusses, in detail, who is the employer for funding purposes under the Pension Benefits Act (“PBA”). This decision will be of interest to employers who participate in pension plans with more than one employer, but are not multi-employer pension plans or “MEPPs”, if the…
Critical Injury or Fatality of a Non-Worker: To Report or Not To Report?
A guest drowns in the hotel pool. Does the hotel need to report the fatality to the Ministry of Labour under subsection 51(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”)? According to a recent decision by the Ontario Labour Relations Board, the answer is “yes”. The Labour Board found that employers and contractors are…
Solvency Funding Relief is Here
This week saw the culmination of many months of work by the Ontario and Federal Governments with respect to solvency funding relief measures. As of yesterday, June 24, 2009, both sets of solvency funding relief regulations have been enacted. The new regulations attempt to balance the goals of maintaining benefit security for employees and retirees,…
Court Dismisses Motion to Certify Class Action for Overtime Wages
On June 18, 2009, Madam Justice Lax of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released her decision, in which she dismissed the motion for certification of a proposed class action brought by Dara Fresco on behalf of current and former employees in the retail branches of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (“CIBC”) with respect…
Access and Production Requirements and Records Possessed by Faculty Members
The Canadian Association of University Teachers recently published a memorandum about records in the possession of faculty members that raises some significant issues for Ontario universities. In a memorandum dated April 8, 2009, and now published on the internet, the association states, “Based on collective agreements, memorandum of agreements, faculty handbooks and on past practice…
Pension Funding In CCAA Restructuring Proceedings
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…