Pensions

Wednesday November 7, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 7, 2018

Feds promise $165 million in compensation after shortchanging 270,000 veterans

November 11, 2015

Repaying hundreds of thousands of veterans with disabilities and their survivors for a calculating error that deprived them of some of their pensions for seven years will cost $165 million, the federal government said.

Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan revealed the error and compensation package Monday even as the federal NDP called on the government to ensure all money earmarked for veterans’ benefits is actually spent.

O’Regan’s department miscalculated adjustments to the disability pensions of 270,000 veterans, RCMP members and their survivors between 2003 and 2010 because it didn’t properly account for a change in personal tax exemptions, he said.

June 17, 2016

“Most individuals will receive a few hundred dollars, while the maximum amount to be paid would be a couple of thousand dollars,” he said.

The miscalculation was identified last year by veterans’ ombudsman Guy Parent, who told the Canadian Press his team stumbled upon the problem while looking at another issue and subsequently flagged it to the government.

While O’Regan promised all veterans would be compensated, payments aren’t expected to begin until 2020, which the minister blamed on the sheer number of Canadians affected by the problem.

December 5, 2014

Matters are complicated as many as 120,000 of the affected veterans, notably those who served in the Second World War and in Korea, have died. O’Regan’s spokesperson, Alex Wellstead, said their survivors and estates will still be eligible.

Parent said the error would have had a disproportionate impact on low-income veterans from the Second World War and Korea who relied on their pensions, and while he couldn’t say exactly how it happened, he hoped the government will ensure it is not repeated.

News of the error and compensation came as the New Democrats tabled a motion on Monday designed to pressure the Liberals to spend $372 million that’s been earmarked for veterans’ benefits in recent years but wasn’t spent.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said veterans have received inadequate assistance and faced barriers when it comes to accessing services and support for far too long because money approved by Parliament ends up going unused and being returned to the treasury. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

Friday October 27, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday October 27, 2017

Sears Canada pensioners demand shortfall be paid off first

The law firm representing Sears Canada pensioners has issued a letter to the agency overseeing the liquidation and all other creditors, asking that the pension deficit be paid first and as soon as possible, as money from liquidation sales becomes available.

October 12, 2017
Canada, retail, employment, taxes, rvenue, CRA, Sears, layoff, bankruptcy, tax fairness

“Our clients . . . are entitled to first priority recover for those amounts,” according to the letter, from Koskie Minsky’s Andrew Hatnay, citing a prior Supreme Court of Canada decision.

The letter is addressed to the monitor assigned to the case, FTI Consulting, and to the service list, which includes lawyers representing every party to the insolvency.

If Hatnay’s position is accepted by the creditors lining up to be paid, the pension’s $270-million deficit would be paid first, although pensioners would not receive other benefits – dental benefits and life insurance benefits, which were discontinued at the end of September.

If the other creditors refuse to allow the pensioners to be paid first, the matter could end up before the court, according to Hatnay.

The legal letter was sent Thursday, a day after Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said the federal government will consider legislation to protect employees’ pensions when a company goes bankrupt.

While there’s no plan for the government to introduce legislation at the moment, he said it will carefully examine two different private member’s bills on the subject, put forward by a New Democrat MP and a Bloc Quebecois MP. (Source: Toronto Star)

The Telegram, St. John’s Newfoundland

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Saturday March 4, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday March 4, 2017

Angry Hamilton steelworkers demand answers from Bratina at rally

Frustrated Hamilton steelworkers and pensioners scorched local Liberal MP Bob Bratina’s ears on a bitterly cold day as they demanded results from a federal government they say has ignored their pleas of help.

About 100 protesters attended a late-afternoon rally Thursday outside Bratina’s Centennial Parkway constituency office accusing the Liberals of ignoring steelworkers and pensioners.

“You have been there a year and nothing has been introduced, ” Vince Van Schyndel, a member of Local 1005, told Bratina after he waded into the decidedly hostile crowd to hear steelworkers’ complaints. Van Schyndel said the federal Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) legislation is preventing the provincial government from providing benefits and pensions to pensioners.

On Dec. 15, 2016 a judge agreed to allow U.S. Steel Canada to negotiate a purchase agreement with the American-based Bedrock Industries Group. In addition, the judge dismissed objections from United Steelworkers Union Local 1005, the City of Hamilton and salaried workers, arguing their issues can be resolved in the future.

The steelworkers believe any restructuring plan will hurt them and the pensioners because pensions and benefits are being ignored in the complicated bankruptcy process. Union officials have stated company pension funds need more than $1 billion to top up underfunded pension and health care benefits plans.

Gary Howe, president of Local 1005, said the CCAA “has been used to take things away from the people that worked many, many years to earn them.”

Bratina, who represents Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, apologized to the gathering and acknowledged it is difficult to introduce legislation as one MP.

He said once the company emerges from the CCAA process, the federal government could help its successor become sustainable.

“I’m sorry that we are in the situation we are in, ” said Bratina, a member of the federal government’s steel caucus. “I don’t blame you guys for being upset. But we will be working hard to make sure the right thing is done.”

He said Ottawa will change the Canadian Pension Plan to increase benefits to $20,000 from $13,000 for those who don’t have a company pension. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Friday June 17, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Friday June 17, 2016 Ottawa revives Harper-era legal arguments to block pensions for injured vets Justice department lawyers will revive legal arguments advanced by the former Harper government to try to block a lawsuit by six Afghan war veterans intent on restoring pensions for injured and wounded soldiers. CBC News first reported last monthÊthat the federal government is taking veterans involved in the Equitas lawsuit back to court to try to block certain benefits for soldiers, despite a Liberal campaign promise to better support them after an era of Conservative cuts. A peace agreement of sorts, reached by former veterans affairs minister Erin O'Toole, recentlyÊexpired without any sort of resolutionÊmeaning the litigation will now proceed at the B.C. Court of Appeals. The government's handpicked lawyers will argue that Canada does not have a social contract or covenant with veterans, and that a "scheme providing benefits cannot be said to amount to a deprivation merely because claimant views the benefits as insufficient.Ó The plaintiffs have argued in court that the lump-sum payment wounded veterans receive under the New Veterans Charter Ñ as opposed to the lifetime pension that was offered to veterans before 2006 Ñ is inadequate compensation, as they receive less money over a lifetime. In court documents filed this week, the government's top class action lawsuit lawyer, Paul Vickery, said that "the submissions made by [former Conservative attorney-general Rob Nicholson] on hearing of the appeal, as set out in the factum filed by him, accurately reflect the current position of the federal government.Ó That is a controversial position among many in the veterans community as there is a long-held belief that Canada has a special responsibility to its veterans Ñ a social contract Ñ based on the promise politicians have made for generations to adequately care for those soldiers who are hurt in the li

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday June 17, 2016

Ottawa revives Harper-era legal arguments to block pensions for injured vets

Justice department lawyers will revive legal arguments advanced by the former Harper government to try to block a lawsuit by six Afghan war veterans intent on restoring pensions for injured and wounded soldiers.

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Wednesday November 11, 2015 Some have been forgotten On Remembrance Day, Canadians will remember those who fell in service to their country. Their names are etched on war graves, on memorial walls and in family scrapbooks. Every name of the war dead is accounted for. In the case of the two world wars, it doesnÕt matter where or how they died. If they served in uniform, they are remembered officially. An investigation by the Globe and Mail, however, has discovered gaps in the recent record. Some names are missing from the Afghan conflict. Military psychiatrist Dr. Greg Passey calls them "the unknown fallen," or, as the Globe says, "the unremembered." They include 59 veterans of the Afghanistan war who committed suicide. ThatÕs more than one-third of the 158 soldiers killed in the 13-year war. They are war dead, victims of wounds to their minds, yet their names are not engraved on the Afghan Memorial Vigil because they werenÕt killed by gunfire, or blown up by a roadside bomb. The high number of suicides and soldiers with mental illness and post-traumatic stress disorder should have been a bugle call for emergency repairs to a system that has failed to help the walking wounded. Some 14,000 serving members are still receiving benefits for mental-health issues. Veterans have long been fighting a losing battle for improved addictions treatment and other mental-health services, as well as better benefits and programs to help them transition out of the military. The former Harper government talked a good game about wanting to ensure veterans and serving soldiers were looked after, but deeds never quite matched their lofty words. Former senator and general Romeo Dallaire has frequently complained about "penny-pinching" by Veterans Affairs. He has called on the government to introduce a social covenant similar to one in Britain, where "a duty of care" to soldiers and veterans is recognized in law. Prime Minister Justin Tru

November 11, 2015

CBC News first reported last month that the federal government is taking veterans involved in the Equitas lawsuit back to court to try to block certain benefits for soldiers, despite a Liberal campaign promise to better support them after an era of Conservative cuts.

A peace agreement of sorts, reached by former veterans affairs minister Erin O’Toole, recently expired without any sort of resolution meaning the litigation will now proceed at the B.C. Court of Appeals.

The government’s handpicked lawyers will argue that Canada does not have a social contract or covenant with veterans, and that a “scheme providing benefits cannot be said to amount to a deprivation merely because claimant views the benefits as insufficient.”

Friday November 21, 2014

November 21, 2014

The plaintiffs have argued in court that the lump-sum payment wounded veterans receive under the New Veterans Charter — as opposed to the lifetime pension that was offered to veterans before 2006 — is inadequate compensation, as they receive less money over a lifetime.

In court documents filed this week, the government’s top class action lawsuit lawyer, Paul Vickery, said that “the submissions made by [former Conservative attorney-general Rob Nicholson] on hearing of the appeal, as set out in the factum filed by him, accurately reflect the current position of the federal government.”

That is a controversial position among many in the veterans community as there is a long-held belief that Canada has a special responsibility to its veterans — a social contract — based on the promise politicians have made for generations to adequately care for those soldiers who are hurt in the line of duty.(Source: CBC News)

Published in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix

Published in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix

Thursday September 18, 2014

Thursday September 18, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 18, 2014

U.S. Steel Canada files for bankruptcy protection

U.S. Steel Canada is under court-ordered protection from its creditors.

The move, announced Tuesday, sat well with investors on U.S. markets on Wednesday. U.S. Steel was up 12 percent at $46.34 at 9:04 a.m. in New York. The stock (X:US) gained 40 percent this year through Tuesday’s close, Bloomberg reported.

In announcing the move, the company’s American parent said the Hamilton and Nanticoke plants have lost more than $2.4 billion over the last five years and the bleeding has to stop.

Michael McQuade, president and general manager of the former Stelco, said in a statement that financial restructuring is the only way to improving chances for the future.

“Despite substantial efforts over the past several years to make U.S. Steel Canada profitable, it is clear that restructuring … is critical to improving our long-term business outlook,” he said.

Canadian spokesperson Trevor Harris said it will be “business as usual and status quo for the time being” as restructuring negotiations get started.

The news release from the parent company noted pension costs as one of its major hurdles, saying the Canadian operation accounts for about $1 billion of its employee benefits liability. For 15,000 pensioners, that is a warning they could lose a chunk of their retirement income.

Pensioners would be out of pocket if the company wound up its Canadian pension plans in the current underfunded state. Some estimates have said that loss could be as high as 30 per cent.

That pension statement echoes claims Stelco made in 2004, when it sought protection under the Companies Creditors Arrangements Act (CCAA) saying the cost of topping up its badly under-funded pension plans was driving it out of business. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

 

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