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2005 Ontario Budget
The Ontario government tabled its 2005 Budget on May 11, 2005. Initiatives announced in the Budget to amend the Pension Benefits Act will be of particular interest to sponsors of multi-employer pension plans and pension plans with members in Ontario and Quebec.
Supplemental Pension Plans Act Amendments
and the Hydro-Québec Decision
Quebec’s Bill 195, the Act to amend the Supplemental Pension Plans Act, came into effect on April 28, 2005. This legislation speaks to the need to obtain member consent for amendments confirming the right to contribution holidays. It was passed following the March 10, 2005 decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal in Association Provinciale des Retraités d’Hydro-Québec c. Hydro-Québec. In this case, the QCA held that the consent of retirees is not required when an employer agrees with unions representing a majority of active pension plan members to apply pension plan surplus to benefit improvements and contribution holidays.
Quebec Proposes Legislation Relaxing Pension Funding Rules
On May 5, 2005, Quebec’s Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity introduced Bill 102, An Act respecting the funding of certain pension plans. The purpose of Bill 102 is to temporarily relax certain funding rules for defined benefit and hybrid pension plans. Given the number of Quebec-registered pension plans in solvency deficit (seven out of 10 by some estimates), the legislation may provide some welcome relief to plan sponsors.
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