Ontario to release phase one of pension reform in November

Duncan told reporters on Wednesday that the province would introduce legislation next month and again in 2010 with a focus on harmonizing the province’s pension regime with the rest of the country.

“We’re trying to bring greater consistency to pension regulation across the country,” said Duncan. “I think when the process is complete you’ll see a much more harmonized system of pension regulation across the country.”

While offering little by way of specifics, Duncan explained reforms would largely be based on the Arthurs Report of 2008, which analyzed Ontario’s pension system. The document was widely panned for its singular focus on defined benefit (DB) plans, and was released during the worst phase of the market freefall to mark the onset of the global financial crisis.

The Arthurs Report called for the following:

• creation of a pension champion;
• cooperation among small- and medium-sized plans,
• expanding the Canada Pension Plan, or creating a comparable provincial plan to enhance pension coverage, control costs and improve benefit portability.
• a national pension summit to investigate all ideas that might produce such outcomes;
• a new Pension Community Advisory Council; and
• new legislation to facilitate the introduction of new plan designs as well as new regulatory initiatives.

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