New U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission listing requirements that impact compensation clawbacks could create conflicts with domestic employment laws for Canadian companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges. The rules are expected to take effect on Oct. 2, 2023, with compliance mandated by Dec. 1, 2023. They require all issuers on U.S. exchanges to adopt mandatory […]
The Quebec Court of Appeal has ruled the province’s Bill 15, which substantially modified municipal sector pension plans, is unconstitutional with respect to retirees but justified for active plan members. The legislation, which was passed in 2014, adopted a cost-sharing formula for plans and plan deficits, established a shared-cost stabilization fund and put an end […]
The Ontario Court of Appeal has overturned a $248,931 judgment against an employer that denied long-term disability benefits to an employee, citing the trial judge’s misinterpretation of eligibility requirements. “The employee’s position was that he was on temporary medical leave, but he had been working until the day he left and the medical evidence clearly […]
In its 2023 budget, the federal government announced plans to require that federally regulated pension plan sponsors disclose their cryptocurrency asset exposure to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. The government has yet to announce how the pension disclosure requirements will be implemented. “Just how these guidelines will affect standards of governance or regulatory […]
The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that employers can’t rely on termination clauses when employees’ duties have escalated significantly after they signed their original employment contracts, including situations where the employee didn’t receive a promotion. In its ruling, the court relied on the changed substratum doctrine, which states termination clauses in a written employment […]
The Federal Court has ruled that the termination of long-term disability benefits for employees who become eligible to receive unreduced pension benefits doesn’t amount to age discrimination. The case arose from the terms of a collective bargaining agreement between Air Canada and the Air Canada Pilots Association. The agreement provided that pilots were eligible to […]
The Canadian Institute of Actuaries is urging the federal government to reconsider its cessation of real return bond issuances, citing the potential financial impacts to defined benefit pension plans. “We request not only that the decision to cease issuing real return bonds be reconsidered, but also that the annual issuance of real return bonds be […]
The Financial Services Tribunal of Ontario has awarded an employer with a $320,000 pension surplus, despite the plan’s trust agreements’ silence as to surplus entitlement. “The requirements for an employer to receive 100 per cent of surplus are strict, but the tribunal took a practical [approach] as opposed to a narrow interpretive approach to the […]
A recent Ontario Divisional Court ruling serves as a caution that employers’ prior conduct may prohibit them from amending pension plans even when the collective agreement clearly allows them to do so. “The takeaway from the decision is that employers’ discretion to amend plans will always be subject to labour law principles in cases that […]
The Saskatchewan Court of King’s Bench has held the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority liable for more than $1.2 million in long-term disability benefits owed to a former employee whose benefits were cut off when he was fired and became permanently disabled during the notice period. “This case illustrates the massive risk that an employer takes […]
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