Bill S-245 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and other Acts (unfunded pension plan liabilities)
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This bill would amend several federal acts, including the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, to better protect pension plan liabilities, enable former employees to claim wages from directors of bankrupt companies, and adjust employment insurance and wage protection programs.
This bill, titled "An Act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and other Acts (unfunded pension plan liabilities)", proposes changes to several federal laws. It aims to ensure that a company's obligations to its pension plan, specifically unfunded liabilities, are treated as secure debts in cases of bankruptcy or financial arrangements. The bill also intends to create a process for former employees to claim unpaid wages from directors of bankrupt companies and to prevent certain payments related to bankruptcy from reducing employment insurance benefits. Additionally, it seeks to update the Wage Earner Protection Program Act to cover employers involved in proposals, compromises, or arrangements.
- Amends the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to ensure unfunded pension plan liabilities are considered secure debts during bankruptcy proceedings.
- Amends the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act to ensure unfunded pension plan liabilities are considered secure debts in arrangements with creditors.
- Amends the Canada Business Corporations Act to create a procedure for former employees of bankrupt corporations to claim unpaid wages from directors.
- Amends the Employment Insurance Act to clarify that certain bankruptcy-related payments will not be deducted from employment insurance benefits.
- Amends the Wage Earner Protection Program Act to include employers making proposals, compromises, or arrangements within the scope of the program.
- Employers with unfunded pension plan liabilities
- Employees owed termination or severance pay
- Former employees of bankrupt corporations
- Directors of bankrupt corporations
- Pension plan beneficiaries
- Employment insurance claimants
- Trustees and receivers in bankruptcy proceedings
- Individuals participating in the Wage Earner Protection Program
- Former employees have the right to file a claim against directors of a bankrupt corporation for unpaid wages.
- Directors of a bankrupt corporation may be ordered to pay former employees compensation for unpaid wages.
- Unfunded pension plan liabilities are to be accorded the status of secure debts.
- Payments from a bankrupt's property or by the government in case of bankruptcy are not to be deducted from employment insurance benefits.
- Sections 8 and 9 of this Act come into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council, subject to parliamentary appropriation of funds.
- Orders made by an adjudicator under the Canada Business Corporations Act are final and not subject to judicial review.
- Orders of an adjudicator can be filed in the Federal Court and have the same force and effect as a judgment of that Court.
- The bill does not specify the exact amounts that constitute 'normal cost' or 'solvency standards' for pension plans, referencing existing regulations for these definitions.
- The bill does not detail the specific process or timeline for the Governor in Council to fix the commencement date for sections 8 and 9, beyond the requirement for parliamentary appropriation.
Changes are made to sections related to proposals and the treatment of unfunded pension plan liabilities to ensure they are considered secured debts. It also introduces new provisions for security of termination and severance pay for employees.
Source: Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Amends provisions related to compromises and arrangements to ensure unfunded pension plan liabilities are treated as secured debts.
Source: Section 7
Adds a new section establishing a process for former employees of bankrupt corporations to file claims against directors for unpaid wages.
Source: Section 6
Adds a provision to section 19 specifying that payments made to a claimant from a bankrupt's property or by the government in case of bankruptcy will not be deducted from employment insurance benefits.
Source: Section 8
Amends section 4 to expand the scope of the program to include employers who have made a proposal, compromise, or arrangement.
Source: Section 9
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
The Senate formally introduced Bill S-245 concerning unfunded pension plan liabilities at its first reading on December 14, 2009, alongside other parliamentary business.
On December 14, 2009, the Senate of Canada held its first reading of Bill S-245, an act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and other Acts concerning unfunded pension plan liabilities. This means the bill was formally introduced and received its initial reading. The Senate also engaged in various other proceedings, including tabling reports, debating other bills, and holding question periods on diverse topics such as Afghanistan, budget cuts, and compensation at financial institutions. The discussions also touched upon the commercial seal hunt, post-traumatic military casualties, and tributes to notable individuals.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced