Two laws that make it possible for companies to shirk their responsibilities to pension plan members are up for review this year and Society members are urged to contact their MP to close these loopholes.
The Society’s Pensioners Chapter, as part of its membership in the Canadian Federation of Pensioners, has been closely involved in a campaign to see that when a company goes bankrupt or restructures, it cannot get out of its duty to pay the pensions promised to pension plan members.
The Supreme Court of Canada recently weighed in on the issue and found that two laws — the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditor Arrangement Act — take precedence over a company’s fiduciary responsibility to pension members.
One example of how this hurts retirees is Nortel. This is a company that went bankrupt with billions of dollars of assets but none went to restoring pensions.
It doesn’t have to be this way. The federal government could give priority to pension members if it just changed the law to put pensioners first. For more information, see the Canadian Federation of Pensioners’ submission to the Government of Canada.
That’s why The Society is urging members to contact their Member of Parliament.
Instructions for sending a letter to your MP and a suggested letter you can use or edit as you see fit are available as a Word document here.
