Case Law And Regulatory Update -Pensions & Benefits

This article was first published in Blakes Bulletin on Pension & Benefits - January 2004

In recent months, there have been numerous rulings, regulatory actions and ongoing proceedings of great interest to pension plans in the courts and before the Financial Services Tribunal. There have also been some discussion and consultation papers of note.

The ongoing case of Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Superintendent of Financial Services will be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada in February, 2004. The Ontario Court of Appeal had affirmed an earlier decision by a lower court that supported the Superintendent’s position under the Pension Benefits Act that surplus assets in a pension plan’s partial wind-up must be distributed at the time of the wind-up. Recently, OSFI has sought intervenor status in support of Monsanto’ s position.