Law Times

Law Times • augusT 20, 2012 Tribunal allows transferred CRA workers to receive Ontario pension FOCUS T BY MICHAEL McKIERNAN Law Times were allowed to claim a full pension when their work was transferred to the federal gov- ernment despite continuing to work in their new jobs at the Canada Revenue Agency. The employees worked at Ontario's former revenue minis- he Ontario Pension Board has appealed aſter several provin- cial public servants try in the adminis- tration of the prov- ince' Tax Act but moved to the federal de- partment as of March 2012 aſter the implementa- tion of the Harmo- nized Sales Tax. Under the Pub- s Retail Sales are not entitled to begin receiv- ing pension benefits." One of the applicants, Mehdi Ratansi, a former senior man- ager at the ministry, presented the case at the tribunal on behalf of himself and 27 colleagues. Ratansi was one of six who had qualified for an unreduced pen- sion on the date of the transfer to the federal department (he opted not to accept the job offer but instead started his own busi- ness as a tax consultant). The decision directly affected five applicants who qualified pensions and ac- cepted offers from the federal depart- ment. The tribunal said a further hear- ing would be nec- essary to deal with the for full lic Service of On- tario Act, the em- ployees had to be members of the public service pension plan. They argued they should be able to claim their pensions because they were no longer Ontario pub- lic servants when they made the move to the federal department. In a May 7 decision, the Fi- nancial Services Tribunal sided with the workers aſter the super- intendent of financial services indicated it would refuse their request to start receiving benefits. "Those applicants who are Murray Gold on the case and says he and his fellow applicants have yet to de- cide whether to appoint a law- yer for the appeal since more stringent rules at the Divisional Court prevent him from appear- ing for anyone but himself. The case revolved around s. want to comment 80 of the Pension Benefits Act. It deals with the sale or assignment of an employer' eligible for an unreduced pen- sion under the plan as of March 1, 2012, have the right to start receiv- ing that pension, notwithstand- ing that they may continue to be employees of the CRA," wrote the three-member tribunal panel. Murray Gold, managing partner at Koskie Minsky LLP, represented the pension board at the tribunal and says his cli- ents have appealed to the Divi- sional Court. "We were surprised, Gold. "There were two prior de- cisions by the tribunal on the is- sue that supported our case. who won the case have used the transfer to gain an unfair advan- tage over other plan members. "People ought not to decide He says the five applicants " that their employment has been terminated and that retire while continuing to work with the new divested employer, he says. "There are limited ex- ceptions, but generally the rule is you work, then you stop work, and draw a pension." Kristen Rose, a spokeswom- an for the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, said the superintendent supports the board' Services Tribunal was a departure from previous Financial Services Tribunal decisions on the same issue, "The decision of the Financial s appeal. ployment of the applicants is deemed not to be terminated for the purposes of the Pension Benefits Act. Consequently, they " Rose said in a statement. "Our position is that the em- they can " new entity. The case also involved a subsection that states that any employees transferred under it are deemed to not have been ter- minated as a result of the transac- tion for the purposes of the act. The employees relied on the s business to a applicants. Ratansi didn't remaining 22 entitled to elect to cease their membership even if their em- ployment status is deemed to continue. We would be per- suaded otherwise only if it were necessary to give effect to the statutory purposes of the [Pen- sion Benefits Act]. We have de- termined that no statutory pur- pose is the applicants to withdraw from the plan." frustrated by allowing LT Don't miss out on your chance to reach 150,000 up-market GTA households Produced by PAGE 11 Untitled-2 1 section of the public service pen- sion plan governing cessation of membership. They argued that while termination may not have occurred for the purposes of the act, they had been terminated for the purposes of the plan. Subsection 3(c) of the pen- " says sion plan allows members to withdraw voluntarily in writ- ing "where that member is not required to be a member of the plan." Since they were no longer Ontario public servants, argued, they didn't have to be members of the plan and could withdraw. The pension board' they tred on the act rather than on the plan. It argued that previous tri- bunal decisions had established s. 80(3) as a statutory bar because all of the employees' options for receiving pensions relied on the termination of their employment. But the tribunal ruled its pre- s case cen- vious decisions "did not consid- er the possibility that a deemed continuance of employment for purposes of the act might not govern the rights of the employ- ees under their respective plans" and said it must determine the rights of members in a "more contextual manner. language as we find it," the panel wrote. "If the applicants are no lon- "We must deal with the plan " ger mandatory members — and they clearly are not — they are LandyMarr_LT_Aug20_12 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 12-08-16 1:31 PM The successful candidate shall have initiative, persuasive oratory and writing skills, and experience and interest in Plaintiff Personal Injury and Insurance Disputes, with a desire to work in the fi rm's other litigation areas. Please send a CV ( with references and law school grades) to Samuel S. Marr at smarr@lawyers.com. website: http://www.thetorontolawyers.ca 12-08-15 9:38 AM Landy Marr Kats LLP a well established seven lawyer boutique Civil Litigation fi rm seeks a lawyer. LEGAL RESOURCE GUIDE 0 1 2 Serving the Greater Toronto Area

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