Articles

CBA Members

For Your
Benefit

CBA Pensions and Benefits Law Section

CBA Pensions and Benefits Law Section articles are published under the banner For Your Benefit. Members interested in posting articles are encouraged to send them to the Section at: Pensions@cba.org

Today
Today

Tribunal refuses request for past service purchase

  • March 07, 2017
  • Jason R. Paquette

In March 2016 the Financial Services Tribunal released its decision regarding the request for hearing filed by Christopher Hiscocks asking it to direct the Superintendent of Financial Services to order DRS Technologies Canada Ltd. to permit him to purchase pensionable service retroactively.

Pensions and Benefits Law

Benefits administration and employee privacy rights

  • September 15, 2016
  • Cynthia Lazar

Employers should carefully scrutinize the standard forms used by their insurers to ensure that employee's privacy rights are not unduly infringed. That’s the takeaway from Rocktenn Co. of Canada Inc. and USW, Local 1-830, 2015 CarswellMan 547 (Peltz), writes Cynthia Lazar.

Pensions and Benefits Law

Take care when explaining employee benefits: A cautionary tale for employers

  • September 08, 2016
  • Aiwen Xu and Heather Di Dio

Benefit plans are often complicated and employers should take care when explaining details of benefits coverage to employees and prospective employees. While an employer might have the best of intentions when providing such information, thanks to the complexities of certain benefit plans, giving an employee inaccurate information can expose the company to unforeseen litigation and liability.

Pensions and Benefits Law

Case Summary: GENERAL MOTORS OF CANADA LIMITED v. ONTARIO (SUPERINTENDENT FINANCIAL SERVICES), 2015 ONFST 39

  • August 17, 2016
  • Terra Klinck and Karina Pylypczuk

The original substantive issues in dispute were (1) whether indexation benefits extended to all members of the CAMI Automotive Inc. Pension Plan for Salaried Employees or only to members who retired from active employment, and (2) whether the indexation benefits set out in the plan text were a “pension benefit” within the meaning of the Pension Benefits Act. This second issue was relevant to the issue of whether the plan could be amended to remove the indexation benefits.

Pensions and Benefits Law