Launch of National Consultations on Private Pensions

February 24, 2009

Positive Steps for all Canadians and the Economy

OTTAWA – Ted Menzies, Member of Parliament for Macleod and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance is pleased to announce that the Government will begin scheduled public consultations across Canada on the legislative and regulatory framework for federally regulated private pension plans.

The national consultations on private pensions will be chaired by Mr. Menzies, and the Department of Finance will hold the series of eight public consultation sessions starting on March 13 in Ottawa and finishing on April 17 in Winnipeg.  The national consultations will proceed according to the following schedule:


"We announced this consultation process in January and we committed to getting it up and running quickly because this issue is important to many Canadians," said the Parliamentary Secretary. "It is very important for our government to continue listening to the voices of Canadians, and I am looking forward to these national consultations".

The federal government regulates private pension plans that are subject to the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985. These plans cover areas of employment under federal jurisdiction, including banking, telecommunications and interprovincial transportation. These plans currently represent 7 per cent of all private pension plans in Canada, accounting for approximately 12 per cent of pension assets.

Canadians who wish to attend these consultations or send submissions on the discussion paper are invited to submit an e-mail to the following address: pensions@fin.gc.ca.