Issue
In Canada, pensions are regulated provincially and federally. While each jurisdiction has similar legislation, it differs in many key respects. This creates problems and ambiguities for people who move between jurisdictions and for multi-jurisdictional employers.
This lack of uniformity has long been an issue with the ACPM. We have consistently advocated for harmonization or uniformity of legislation, preferring the latter.
Action to Date
For many years, the ACPM has advocated for greater harmonization or uniformity. In 1999, a sub-committee of the ACPM’s Advocacy and Government Relations Committee (AGRC) crafted a Model Pension Law and sent it to the Canadian Association of Pensions Supervisory Authorities (CAPSA).
In January 2004, CAPSA released its own set of Model Pension Law principles, which it proposes to offer as a template for uniform pension legislation across Canada. While the ACPM would have preferred this step be taken further than a template for legislation, the AGRC responded to the CAPSA proposal, in detail, in June 2004.
In June 2005, CAPSA released a discussion paper, “Proposed Funding Principles for a Model Pension Law”. A sub-committee of the AGRC is currently preparing the ACPM’s response to this paper.
Future Action
The AGRC will continue to monitor developments and to actively advocate for greater uniformity.