Pensions
A Damage Award to Discourage Age Discrimination in IBM Canada Limited v Waterman
Normal 0 There is a somewhat peculiar fact pattern in the case of IBM Canada Limited v Waterman, 2013 SCC 70. It led to an unusual outcome, to the benefit of the respondent-plaintiff, in which the Court expanded the boundaries of flexible damage awards. The decision also enunciates important principles regarding pension entitlements and age […]
Nolan v. Kerry And Its Place In Pension Deliberation
The Court recently upheld the judgement of the Court of Appeal for Ontario in Nolan v. Kerry (Canada) Inc., 2009 SCC 39. The case involved the treatment of surplus in a pension plan. A usually obscure area of labour and administrative law, pension plans and pensions generally were weekly news during 2008 and 2009, and […]
Employers and Pension Plan Sponsors Rejoice: The SCC Decision in Nolan v. Kerry (Canada)
The Ontario Court of Appeal's unanimous decision in Kerry (Canada) v. DCA Employees Pension Committee, 2007 ONCA 416, was welcome news for Canadian employers everywhere. Nevertheless, in light of the SCC’s decision to hear an appeal of the case, Canadian employers held their breath in preparation for possible changes to come. Many theorists had ruminated […]
SCC Asked to Clarify Pension Law
On January 31st the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") granted leave to appeal in Kerry (Canada) Inc v DCA Pension Committee, 2007 ONCA 416, a case which asks the SCC to determine the appropriate conduct of employers managing employee pension funds. This case will be watched closely by employee-groups and employers alike; however, it will […]
Canada v Hislop: How Far Back Are We Willing to Go?
Anytime differential treatment of a group is recognized as morally wrong or a violation of equality rights there arises a difficult issue. In trying to determine how best to compensate persons who have been affected by such treatment, how far back should the courts go to calculate the appropriate compensation or remedy? This is precisely […]
Buschau v Rogers Communication
In 1994, in the case of Schmidt v Air Products Canada Ltd, [1994] 2 SCR 611 [Schmidt], the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") established a new direction for the law of pensions by holding that a pension trust is a classic trust, "subject to all applicable trust law principles." Commentators at the time argued that the […]