Ladies and Gentlemen,

I hope this message finds you all well.

PPAO Secretary, Wayne Omardeen, received information through the Canadian Federation of Pensioners regarding two Private Members Bills that have been introduced by NDP member Scott Duvall. They are Bills C-258 and C-259. Below is an excerpt from the summary in Mr. Duvall’s submission to Parliament for Bill C-259. Although the effects of bankruptcy does not affect members in OMERS, there are certainly plenty of examples of how friends and family can be affected by the dissolution of a pension through bankruptcy. I believe we will all agree that pensions should be a priority for protection during a bankruptcy, which is not currently the case.

Here is a link to Bill C-259 provided for your information. https://openparliament.ca/bills/43-2/C-259/

“This enactment amends the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act to ensure that claims in respect of unfunded liabilities or solvency deficiencies of a pension plan are accorded priority in the event of bankruptcy proceedings. It also provides that an employer has to maintain group insurance programs that provide benefits to or in respect of its employees or former employees.

This enactment also amends the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 to empower the Superintendent of Financial Institutions to determine that the funding of a pension plan is impaired or that the pension plan administrator is at risk and to set out measures to be taken by the employer in respect of the funding of the plan in such cases”

Terry

Terry Hill, Director PPAO
thill@ppao.ca
http://www.ppao.ca