Deborah McPhail

The applicant brought a motion to determine the nature of the notice to be provided for a hearing regarding its application to withdraw surplus from a pension plan.

The Superintendent of Financial Services had proposed to refuse the application.

The Tribunal ordered that notice of the hearing be provided by ordinary mail to all affected members and former members of the plan, as well as by newspaper publication, with the costs to be borne by the applicant.

The applicants, former employees of the Ministry of Finance, were transferred to the Ontario Property Assessment Corporation (OPAC) when the Ministry's property assessment functions were transferred.

At the time of the transfer, both applicants were eligible to retire under the 'Factor 80' provisions of their respective pension plans and sought to receive their pension benefits while continuing to work for OPAC.

The Superintendent of Financial Services refused to order the pension plan administrators to pay the benefits, finding that under section 80 of the Pension Benefits Act, the transfer constituted a sale of a business and the applicants' employment was deemed not to have been terminated.

The Financial Services Tribunal affirmed the Superintendent's decision, holding that the applicants could not receive pension benefits without actually terminating their employment with the successor employer.

The applicant requested a hearing regarding the constitution of a pension plan's advisory committee.

A pre-hearing motion was held to determine whether separate notice of the jurisdictional hearing needed to be provided to former members of the plan.

The Tribunal found that the union's acknowledgement of its fiduciary duty to represent all members, including former members, was sufficient.

The Tribunal declined to order additional notice to former members.

The Superintendent of Financial Services proposed an order requiring Dustbane Enterprises Limited to fund a deficit arising from the partial wind-up of its pension plan.

Dustbane argued that the plan was a multi-employer pension plan and that its distributors were separate employers liable for their respective shares of the deficit.

The Financial Services Tribunal held that the plan did not meet the statutory requirements for a multi-employer pension plan, as there were no written participation agreements and the plan was not administered as such.

The Tribunal directed the Superintendent to carry out the proposed order, making Dustbane solely liable for the deficit.

The Superintendent of Financial Services proposed a partial wind up of the employer's pension plan following a corporate reorganization in 1996 that resulted in the involuntary termination of 384 administrative employees.

The employer requested a hearing, arguing that the number of terminations was not significant.

The Financial Services Tribunal found that 384 terminations, representing approximately 12.8% to 14.9% of the active administrative plan members, constituted a significant number under section 69(1)(d) of the Pension Benefits Act.

The Tribunal directed the Superintendent to order the partial wind up for the period from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 1996.

The employer requested a hearing regarding a Notice of Proposal by the Superintendent related to a partial wind-up report of its pension plan.

Shortly before the scheduled hearing, the employer withdrew its request.

The union, which had been granted party status, applied for an award of costs against the employer.

The Financial Services Tribunal dismissed the application, finding that the employer's conduct was not unreasonable, frivolous, or vexatious, and that the delay caused by the change of position was not unnecessary or unreasonable.

The applicant employer sought a hearing before the Financial Services Tribunal regarding the Superintendent's proposal to refuse approval of a partial wind-up report for a pension plan.

The report failed to provide for special early retirement pensions under section 7.3 of the plan.

The Tribunal found that the special early retirement pension was an 'ancillary benefit' under the Pension Benefits Act, and that the employer's consent required by the plan was deemed to be given upon partial wind-up pursuant to subsection 74(7) of the Act.

The Tribunal directed the Superintendent to carry out the proposal to refuse approval of the report.

The applicant brought a preliminary motion for an order directing the Superintendent of Financial Services to respond to interrogatories regarding the delay in processing a partial wind-up application for a pension plan.

The Superintendent refused to answer, arguing the reasons for delay were irrelevant.

The Financial Services Tribunal applied the Monsanto test and ordered the Superintendent to answer the interrogatories, finding that the issue of delay was arguably relevant as it had been included in the agreed Pre-Hearing Conference Memorandum.

The applicant, a member of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, sought to transfer the commuted value of his pension upon termination of employment.

The applicant had become eligible for an immediate pension under the plan's early retirement window.

The Financial Services Tribunal dismissed the application, holding that under section 42(3) of the Pension Benefits Act and the terms of the plan, a member who is eligible for an immediate pension is not entitled to transfer the commuted value of their pension.

The applicant, Monsanto Canada Inc., brought a preliminary motion for orders directing the Superintendent of Financial Services to disclose documents and answer interrogatories regarding past practice on partial wind up reports.

Monsanto argued this information was relevant to its claim of legitimate expectation.

The Financial Services Tribunal granted the motion, finding that the requested information was arguably relevant to a non-frivolous issue, sufficiently particularized, and not privileged.