By Julius Melnitzer | July 1, 2023
The Quebec Court of Appeal has ruled the province’s Bill 15, which substantially modified municipal sector pension plans, is unconstitutional with respect to retirees but justified for active plan members.
The legislation, which was passed in 2014, adopted a cost-sharing formula for plans and plan deficits, established a shared-cost stabilization fund and put an end to automatic pension indexations.
Labour groups representing nearly 75,000 municipal employees and 30,000 municipal pensioners argued Bill 15 infringed on their freedom of association, including the right to collectively bargain their remuneration and benefits, of which pensions were a significant component. They pointed to the provisions in the law that changed actuarial deficits attributable to past service, defined strict limitations on future bargaining and amended existing collective agreements. READ MORE . . .
Julius Melnitzer is a Toronto-based legal affairs writer, ghostwriter, writing coach and media trainer. Readers can reach him at [email protected] or https://legalwriter.net/contact.
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