Public Service Alliance of Canada

John Solursh (Chair), Elizabeth Shilton, David Short

On October 26, 2007, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (the “Applicant”), requested a hearing regarding the Notice of Proposal of the Deputy Superintendent, Pensions, dated September 26, 2007, to revoke the registration of an amendment to the Plan pursuant to section 18(1)(e) of the Pension Benefits Act (the “Act”).  The Notice of Proposal states the position that:

• the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Component of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (“DVAC”)  entered into an agreement with the Public Service Alliance of Canada Centre (“PSAC”) for the transfer of its employees and their pension plan (the Pension Plan for Employees of Department of Veterans’ Affairs Component of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the “DVAC Plan”) assets to the Pension Plan of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, now known as the Pension Plan for Employees of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (the “PSAC Plan”), effective July 1, 1987 (the “Asset Transfer Date”);

• both the DVAC Plan and the PSAC Plan were amended to facilitate this transfer of assets. On the Asset Transfer Date, the assets were segregated into:

• an amount equal to the actuarial liabilities in respect of members’ benefits; and
• the “remaining” or surplus funds (the “Surplus”);

• Amendment No. 14 to the PSAC Plan specifically provided that the Surplus was for the “exclusive benefit” of the member employees of the DVAC component of the Public Service Alliance of Canada and their beneficiaries, in accordance with Appendix “C” of the amendment. Appendix “C” applied only to “…Plan Members currently accruing Creditable Service, or who have accrued Creditable Service, in respect of employment with the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Component of the Public Service Alliance of Canada”;

• effective January 1, 2006, PSAC amended the PSAC Plan through Amendment 2006-3, in order to distribute the Surplus to the plan members of the DVAC or UVAE Component of the PSAC Plan. This amendment proposes to distribute 1/3 of the Surplus to those members who were members of the DVAC Plan on the Asset Transfer Date and to distribute the remaining 2/3 of the Surplus to members of the DVAC component of the PSAC Plan who joined the DVAC component after the Asset Transfer Date. Amendment 2006-3 was filed in April of 2006 and FSCO sent out a Notice of Registration on April 20th, 2006;

• Amendment 2006-3 is contrary to the terms of the filed amendments to the PSAC Plan and the DVAC Plan that provided for the transfer of assets from the DVAC Plan to the PSAC Plan and set aside the Surplus for the benefit of the members of the DVAC Plan on the Asset Transfer Date.

On November 21, 2007, an application for party status was filed by the Alliance Employees’ Union.

A pre-hearing conference is being scheduled.

Updated to November 21, 2007

The pre-hearing conference is scheduled for February 14, 2008.