News & Events

On May 22, 2020, FSRA released Guidance on its approach to reviewing applications for commuted value transfers and annuity purchases under sections 19(4) and 19(5) of the Pension Benefits Act’s Regulation 909. The newly released Guidance addresses what restrictions apply to a Plan Administrator when a defined benefit pension plan’s transfer ratio has declined by

Effective June 8, 2020, all in-person hearings scheduled before the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT) will be converted to teleconference hearings unless the Scheduling Administration Manager is satisfied that another alternative hearing method is appropriate. If a party objects to proceeding by teleconference, their objection will be addressed by the Vice-Chair or Panel

Effective June 8, 2020, all in-person hearings scheduled before the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT) will be converted to teleconference hearings unless the Scheduling Administration Manager is satisfied that another alternative hearing method is appropriate. If a party objects to proceeding by teleconference, their objection will be addressed by the Vice-Chair or Panel

The Government of Canada has apparently decided that it will not permit Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (“SUB”) plans to make Canada Emergency Response Benefit (“CERB”) top-up payments to members. Although the government has not formally announced this apparent decision, it has published the following on the ‘Questions and Answers on the Canada Emergency Response Benefit’ page. Q:

Union locals, pension funds, and employee benefit funds may be eligible for the Temporary Wage Subsidy and the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy in their capacity as employers. Employers will generally be eligible for the Temporary Wage Subsidy (TWS) if they have one or more employees and had a business number for the purpose of making

Union locals, pension funds, and employee benefit funds may be eligible for the Temporary Wage Subsidy and the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy in their capacity as employers. Employers will generally be eligible for the Temporary Wage Subsidy (TWS) if they have one or more employees and had a business number for the purpose of making

Philip Graham and Lauren Tarasuk were interviewed by Canadian Lawyer Magazine: Growing sophistication of technology in workplaces creating labour and employment issues.  To view the article, please click here.  

Ontario’s pension regulator, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (“FSRA”), has released new guidance for pension plan administrators, sponsors, members, retirees, and other stakeholders navigating the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. This statement, effective April 24, 2020, follows two earlier releases from FISRA regarding the impact of COVID-19. You can read more about these prior statements in our

Recent decisions from Ontario labour tribunals show that hearings can, in some cases, proceed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has prevented public gatherings from taking place, preventing parties to disputes from appearing in person before a decision maker in order to have their matters resolved. However, a few recent decisions indicate that arbitrators and

This post provides a round-up of recent measures taken by Canada’s federal and provincial pension regulators in response to COVID-19. Federal The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has released an updated Q&A in respect of its decision to temporarily prohibit portability transfers and buy-out annuity purchases in order to protect pension fund solvency.