The Senate passed a bill to protect private sector pensions during corporate bankruptcies. The reform was first proposed in 1975, but gained momentum following the 2017 collapse of Sears Canada.. Sears Canada .“Pensioners’ groups have been calling for this legislation for a long time,” said Sen. David Wells (NL), sponsor of the bill..Reforms place “the interests of people before banks,” said Wells..Bill C-228 An Act to Amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act grants preference to pensioners as creditors in bankruptcy settlements. It passed the Commons by unanimous vote last November 23..According to Blacklock’s Reporter, dozens of legislators over decades had sought to reform the Bankruptcy Act to protect the pensions of longtime employees..“Private defined benefit pension plans have already been in decline for more than 20 years,” said Wells..“In the year 2000, 21% of private sector pension plans were defined benefit plans. By 2020 that number had dropped to 9.6%.”.Reforms would benefit some 1.2 million employees in the private sector, by the Department of Finance estimate..Bill C-228 passed Third Reading in the Senate without dissent.. Money problems .“I have waited 30 years to give this speech,” said Sen. Hassan Yussuff (ON), former president of the Canadian Labour Congress..“I thought one day the law would finally change. I never expected to be in this chamber when it would happen.”.Yussuff noted the passage of the bill came too late for thousands of pensioners who received pennies on the dollar in cases of corporate bankruptcies..“We know their names,” said Yussuff..“Nortel, Sears, Eaton’s, Massey Ferguson, Cliffs Natural Resources and many more.”.“The consequences of this can be devastating for the pensioners and their families who work a lifetime on the belief that the promise will be kept and the trust respected,” said Yussuff..“This bill is about ensuring there will be no other pensioners who will have to suffer the same fate.”.Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia-Lambton, ON), the author of the bill, earlier testified at the Commons Finance committee she was motivated by a neighbour's plight..“She had worked at Sears for 30 years and was really happy about being able to retire and then ended up receiving 70¢ on the dollar,” said Gladu..“Sears Canada paid more than $3 billion in dividends to shareholders even as it was operating at a loss. Its pension plan was underfunded by $113 million.”
The Senate passed a bill to protect private sector pensions during corporate bankruptcies. The reform was first proposed in 1975, but gained momentum following the 2017 collapse of Sears Canada.. Sears Canada .“Pensioners’ groups have been calling for this legislation for a long time,” said Sen. David Wells (NL), sponsor of the bill..Reforms place “the interests of people before banks,” said Wells..Bill C-228 An Act to Amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act grants preference to pensioners as creditors in bankruptcy settlements. It passed the Commons by unanimous vote last November 23..According to Blacklock’s Reporter, dozens of legislators over decades had sought to reform the Bankruptcy Act to protect the pensions of longtime employees..“Private defined benefit pension plans have already been in decline for more than 20 years,” said Wells..“In the year 2000, 21% of private sector pension plans were defined benefit plans. By 2020 that number had dropped to 9.6%.”.Reforms would benefit some 1.2 million employees in the private sector, by the Department of Finance estimate..Bill C-228 passed Third Reading in the Senate without dissent.. Money problems .“I have waited 30 years to give this speech,” said Sen. Hassan Yussuff (ON), former president of the Canadian Labour Congress..“I thought one day the law would finally change. I never expected to be in this chamber when it would happen.”.Yussuff noted the passage of the bill came too late for thousands of pensioners who received pennies on the dollar in cases of corporate bankruptcies..“We know their names,” said Yussuff..“Nortel, Sears, Eaton’s, Massey Ferguson, Cliffs Natural Resources and many more.”.“The consequences of this can be devastating for the pensioners and their families who work a lifetime on the belief that the promise will be kept and the trust respected,” said Yussuff..“This bill is about ensuring there will be no other pensioners who will have to suffer the same fate.”.Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia-Lambton, ON), the author of the bill, earlier testified at the Commons Finance committee she was motivated by a neighbour's plight..“She had worked at Sears for 30 years and was really happy about being able to retire and then ended up receiving 70¢ on the dollar,” said Gladu..“Sears Canada paid more than $3 billion in dividends to shareholders even as it was operating at a loss. Its pension plan was underfunded by $113 million.”
