On Thursday, November 20, 2008 the Ontario Expert Commission on
Pensions released its much anticipated report: "A Fine Balance
– Safe Pensions, Affordable Plans, Fair Rules" (the
"Report"). The Chair of the Commission was Harry Arthurs,
who was assisted by expert advisors.
The Report was commissioned by the Minister of Finance in
November 2006. During the past two years, the Commission sought and
received input from interested stakeholders and had several
comprehensive studies completed in the pension area.
The Report does not change the current Ontario pension
law. It provides a set of recommendations to the
Government with respect to potential reform in the pension
area.
Following the release of the Report, the Ministry of Finance
announced that it is seeking feedback from Ontarians by February
27, 2009 because it is committed to introducing legislation soon.
It is unclear which recommendations from the Report that the
government intends to implement.
