Pensions could be undermined if TILMA philosophy influences review, says NUPGE's Larry Brown
Ottawa (25 Oct. 2007) – The Alberta and British Columbia government have announced that they will collaborate on a comprehensive review of pension standards to ensure pension plans continue to benefit workers, employers and investors.
British Columbia Finance Minister Carole Taylor and Alberta Finance Minister Lyle Oberg have appointed a six-member expert panel to conduct a review of Alberta’s Employment Pension Plans Act (EPPA) and British Columbia’s Pension Benefits Standards Act (PBSA). These acts set minimum standards for benefits, funding, investments and disclosure in private-sector pension plans.
The public sector pension plans which the majority of NUPGE members in the two provinces belong to are not included in the review.
The Joint Expert Panel on Pension Standards will consult with stakeholders and present their findings and recommendations to both provinces’ finance ministers by Sept. 30, 2008. The panel will examine key issues that include:
- the role of pensions in attracting and retaining the future work force while ensuring fairness for both employees and employers, balancing risks and rewards;
- encouraging the establishment and maintenance of employee pension plans;
- changes that will continue making both provinces attractive jurisdictions for investment; and
- removing barriers to the creation and maintenance of pension plans in the two jurisdictions.
Larry Brown
NUPGE Secretary-Treasurer, Larry Brown says establishment of the experts panel is welcome but he has some reservations.
“It is a clear indication that these governments recognize the importance of workplace pension plans," Brown says. "Unfortunately, the panel was not given the same explicit mandate provided to the Expert Commission on Pensions, established by the Ontario government in November 2006.”
The Ontario government clearly identified the importance of maintaining and encouraging the system of defined benefit pension plans in Ontario as a guiding principle of its Commission's work.
“With the calculated campaign by corporate Canada and the pensions industry to undermine defined benefit plans – the best form of pension plans – it's disappointing that there was no specific focus on the system of defined benefit pension plans given to the B.C.-Alberta panel," Brown notes.
“These are the two governments that brought us the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) earlier this year. Let’s hope that the Experts Panel on Pensions is not an extension of TILMA. The whole point of TILMA is not to improve regulatory standards, but to harmonize standards to aid interprovincial businesses," he adds.
"It is indeed odd that an interprovincial harmonization proposal would come from the two TILMA provinces without there being any reference to TILMA. But this pension review should not be a process of harmonizing to the lowest common denominator. Workers in these two provinces deserve the best of protections, not the lowest."
Co-chairs named
The panel will be co-chaired by Christopher Brown, a partner with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP Pensions and Benefits Department in Alberta, which specializes in pension plan governance, administration, compliance and investment, and Scott Sweatman, senior legal counsel with Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in British Columbia, which specializes in pension, tax, trust and benefit matters.
British Columbia also plans to introduce temporary measures to address pension plan funding concerns similar to those recently adopted or proposed by Alberta, including:
- three-year moratorium on solvency payments for qualifying multi-employer negotiated cost pension plans; and
- the ability to use letters of credit to fund solvency deficiencies in certain circumstances.
Alberta is responsible for regulating approximately 770 pension plans with combined assets of more than $25.5 billion, not including Alberta public sector plans. These plans provide benefits for more than 323,000 active and former employees. Approximately 150 of these plans have members from both Alberta and British Columbia.
British Columbia regulates approximately 800 registered pension plans, under the Pension Benefits Standards Act, with assets of $27 billion, not including public sector plans. These plans provide benefits for more than 500,000 active and former employees. Approximately 130 of these pension plans have members from both Alberta and British Columbia. NUPGE
More information:
? TILMA makes misleading claims on jobs and savings
? McGuinty won't sign TILMA if it undermines labour standards
? Presentation by Larry Brown to Senate Committee - pdf
? Red Alert: It's time to stop waltzing with TILMA - pdf
? B.C.-Alberta Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement - pdf
? TILMA hits MLAs, municipalities, school boards, health bodies
? Public forum to examine dangers of B.C.-Alberta trade pact
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