Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada v. Canada (Attorney General)

Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada v. Canada (Attorney General)
Collection
Supreme Court Judgments
Date
2012-12-19
Neutral citation
2012 SCC 71
Report
[2012] 3 SCR 660
Case number
33968
Judges
McLachlin, Beverley; LeBel, Louis; Deschamps, Marie; Fish, Morris J.; Abella, Rosalie Silberman; Rothstein, Marshall; Cromwell, Thomas Albert; Moldaver, Michael J.; Karakatsanis, Andromache
On appeal from
Ontario
Subjects
Pensions
Notes
SCC Case Information: 33968
Decision Content
SUPREME COURT OF CANADA
Citation: Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada v. Canada (Attorney General), 2012 SCC 71, [2012] 3 S.C.R. 660
Date: 20121219
Docket: 33968
Between:
Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, Canadian Merchant Service Guild, Federal Government Dockyard Trades and Labour Council (East), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Federal Government Dockyard Chargehands Association, Research Council Employees’ Association, Association of Public Service Financial Administrators, Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers, Federal Government Dockyard Trades and Labour Council (West), Canadian Association of Professional Radio Operators, Canadian Air Traffic Control Association, Canadian Military Colleges Faculty Association and Federal Superannuates National Association
Appellants
and
Attorney General of Canada
Respondent
AND BETWEEN:
Public Service Alliance of Canada
Appellant
and
Attorney General of Canada
Respondent
AND BETWEEN:
Armed Forces Pensioners’/Annuitants’ Association of Canada, Association des Membres de la Police Montée du Québec, British Columbia Mounted Police Professional Association, Mounted Police Association of Ontario and Canadian Association of Professional Employees
Appellants
and
Attorney General of Canada
Respondent
- and -
Attorney General of British Columbia
Intervener
Coram: McLachlin C.J. and LeBel, Deschamps, Fish, Abella, Rothstein, Cromwell, Moldaver and Karakatsanis JJ.
Reasons for Judgment:
(paras. 1 to 165)
Rothstein J. (McLachlin C.J. and LeBel, Deschamps, Fish, Abella, Cromwell, Moldaver and Karakatsanis JJ. concurring)
Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada v. Canada (Attorney General), 2012 SCC 71, [2012] 3 S.C.R. 660
Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada,
Canadian Merchant Service Guild,
Federal Government Dockyard Trades and Labour Council (East), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Federal Government Dockyard Chargehands Association,
Research Council Employees’ Association,
Association of Public Service Financial Administrators,
Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers,
Federal Government Dockyard Trades and Labour Council (West),
Canadian Association of Professional Radio Operators,
Canadian Air Traffic Control Association,
Canadian Military Colleges Faculty Association and
Federal Superannuates National Association Appellants
v.
Attorney General of Canada Respondent
‑ and ‑
Public Service Alliance of Canada Appellant
v.
Attorney General of Canada Respondent
‑ and ‑
Armed Forces Pensioners’/Annuitants’ Association of Canada,
Association des Membres de la Police Montée du Québec,
British Columbia Mounted Police Professional Association,
Mounted Police Association of Ontario and
Canadian Association of Professional Employees Appellants
v.
Attorney General of Canada Respondent
and
Attorney General of British Columbia Intervener
Indexed as: Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada v. Canada (Attorney General)
2012 SCC 71
File No.: 33968.
2012: February 9; 2012: December 19.
Present: McLachlin C.J. and LeBel, Deschamps, Fish, Abella, Rothstein, Cromwell, Moldaver and Karakatsanis JJ.
on appeal from the court of appeal for ontario
Pensions ― Pension plans ― Surplus ― Public sector pension plans administered by government ― Government amortizing actuarial surpluses in Superannuation Accounts ― New legislation coming into force on April 1, 2000 amending Superannuation Acts ― Government debiting over $28 billion directly from Superannuation Accounts on basis of new legislation ― Whether Superannuation Accounts contain assets ― Whether government owes fiduciary duty to Plan members ― Whether constructive trust should be imposed over balances in Superannuation Accounts as of March 31, 2000 ― Whether new legislation authorizing government to debit actuarial surpluses in Superannuation Accounts ― Public Service Superannuation Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P‑36 ― Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C‑17 ― Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. R‑11 ― Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act, S.C. 1999, c. 34 .
There are three pension plans involved in this appeal (the “Plans”). They were established by statute for each of the three groups: substantially all those who are employed in the federal public service; the members of the RCMP; and the regular force of the Canadian Forces (the “Plan members”). Each Plan is administered by the Government of Canada, and each is a contributory, defined benefit plan. The statutes governing the Plans establish for each one a “Superannuation Account”, which records payments into and out of the Plan. In the 1990s, the credits to the Superannuation Accounts began to reflect actuarial surpluses (meaning that the credits exceeded the estimated cost of providing pension benefits). By March 1999, the total surpluses of the three Plans had reached approximately $30.9 billion. There are two relevant time periods in this appeal. The first period is up to and including March 31, 2000. It precedes the coming into force of the Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act, S.C. 1999, c. 34 (“Bill C‑78”), legislation that amended the Superannuation Acts (PSSA; CFSA and RCMPSA) and, thus, the Plans. The second period begins on April 1, 2000, when Bill C‑78 came into effect.
Beginning with the 1990‑91 Public Accounts (Canada’s annual financial reports), the government began to “amortize” the actuarial surpluses in the Superannuation Accounts. The effect of this “amortization” was twofold: it reduced the government’s annual budget deficit (or increased the annual budget surplus) by reducing annual pension expenditures, and it brought the government’s net debt down by reducing the net pension liabilities to an amount closer to the actuarial estimates of the government’s future pension obligations.
In 1999, the government introduced Bill C‑78, which came into force on April 1, 2000. It made significant changes to the Superannuation Acts and changed the way in which contributions to the Plans were collected, managed and distributed. It established a Pension Fund in each of the Superannuation Acts that replaced the Superannuation Accounts for post‑March 31, 2000 service. Since April 1, 2000, employee and government contributions in respect of current service have been made to the Pension Funds. All benefits for pensionable service prior to April 1, 2000, when paid, are charged to the appropriate Superannuation Account. However, benefits paid for service thereafter are paid from the appropriate Pension Fund. Bill C‑78 also required the Minister to debit from the Superannuation Account certain amounts in excess of specified actuarial surplus ceilings. Unlike the effect of the prior amortization practice, on the basis of Bill C‑78, the government debited over $28 billion directly from the Superannuation Accounts, thereby reducing the actuarial surplus in those accounts.
Various unions and associations filed suit, seeking relief that would require the government to return $28 billion to the Plans. The trial judge dismissed the claims and the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the decision. In their appeal in this Court, they seek a declaration that the Plan members have an equitable interest in the outstanding balance in the Superannuation Accounts as of March 31, 2000. They also seek a declaration that Bill C‑78 does not authorize the reduction from the Superannuation Accounts of any amount in which Plan members have an equitable interest without compensation. They seek an order that the Superannuation Accounts be credited with all amounts that were removed following Bill C‑78 in which the Plan members have an equitable interest, together with interest.
Held: The appeal should be dismissed.
The Superannuation Accounts are legislated records and do not contain assets in which the Plan members have a legal or equitable interest. The Plan members’ interests are limited to their interest in the defined benefits to which they are entitled under the Plans. The Superannuation Acts created the Accounts to track Plan‑related Consolidated Revenue Fund (“CRF”) transactions and to estimate the government’s pension liabilities to Plan members. In this way, they are accounting records, not funded and segregated pools of assets. When the word “assets” is used in the legislation in reference to the Superannuation Accounts, it merely signifies their credit balances, not anything of value to which the Plan members could have an interest. Even if reference to extrinsic aids was appropriate, the extrinsic evidence available is inconclusive. Nor does it afford insight into the intention of Parliament when creating the Superannuation Accounts.
The courts below were correct to reject the theory that the government borrowed from the Accounts, placing in them promises to pay by the government (the purported assets in the Accounts). This theory is inconsistent with the legislation in that it assumes that the government was required to contribute property into the Accounts in the first place. As the Accounts are no more than accounting records, this would have been impossible. Prior to April 1, 2000, all of the real money associated with Canada’s pension scheme remained unsegregated in the CRF, until benefits were actually paid — out of the CRF — to Plan members. The superannuation scheme reflects “internal borrowing” only in the sense that it avoids, by design, the need for the external borrowing that would otherwise be required to finance the government’s pension obligations. The Superannuation Accounts are just accounting records and they are not funds, nor are they “trust‑like”, such that it is possible to borrow from them.
As the Superannuation Accounts do not contain assets, there was no property in respect of which Plan members can have a legal or equitable interest. However, even if the Accounts did contain assets, it has not been established that the Plan members have a proprietary interest in either their contributions made or in the government credits under the Superannuation Acts. On a plain reading of the Superannuation Acts, there is no suggestion that the Plan members have a proprietary interest in their contributions. Contributing employees can claim no continuing property interest in these amounts. In exchange for their contributions, and with each year of pensionable service, employees gain a legal entitlement to a future benefit. It has been asserted that employees have an interest in both the employee and employer contributions, plus interest, on the basis that they form part of employees’ total compensation. Even if it were to be assumed that employees have an interest in the contributions at the point in time at which their salaries are to be paid to them, no interest in these amounts could survive the requirement in the Superannuation Acts that they be paid into the CRF and credited to the Accounts. Rather, this is the “cost” paid by employees for the future legal entitlement to their statutorily defined benefits. The Superannuation Acts also do not establish that employees have an equitable interest in the amounts credited to the Accounts. They provide only a legal entitlement to statutorily defined pension benefits.
Nor was the government subject to a fiduciary obligation in favour of the Plan members with respect to the actuarial surplus. In this case, the government does not fall into any of the per se fiduciary relationships. It is contended that the government is in a recognized fiduciary role in its capacity as a pension plan administrator; however, it is not necessary to decide the precise ambit of any potential fiduciary duty that might arise between the government, as pension plan administrator, and the beneficiaries of the plan, or whether the relationship inherently carries with it some set of fiduciary obligations. It is clear that the government had no fiduciary duty to the Plan members with respect to the actuarial surplus. There was no ad hoc fiduciary relationship between the government and the Plan members with respect to the actuarial surplus reflected in the Superannuation Accounts. Most importantly, the government did not undertake, either expressly or impliedly, to act in the best interests of the Plan members with respect to the actuarial surplus. Without such an undertaking of loyalty in favour of these particular stakeholders, the government’s duty was to act in the best interests of society as a whole. This is inconsistent with the existence of a fiduciary duty. Moreover, while the government exercised discretion in its accounting treatment of the surpluses in the Superannuation Accounts, the Plan members were not vulnerable to that discretion, nor did they have any legal or practical interest at stake. The effect of the amortization was to disclose more accurately Canada’s actual pension obligations, not to affect Plan members’ statutory entitlements under the Plans.
Further, a constructive trust should not be imposed over the balances in the Superannuation Accounts as of March 31, 2000. There was no enrichment and corresponding deprivation, and a prima facie case of unjust enrichment has not been established. As the Superannuation Accounts are mere accounting records, and do not contain assets in which the Plan members have an interest, no enrichment and corresponding deprivation can be found in either (1) the government’s decision prior to April 1, 2000, to amortize the surpluses for accounting purposes, or (2) Parliament’s decision to enact Bill C‑78 to require the debiting of a portion of the surplus directly from the Accounts.
Bill C‑78 authorized the government to debit the actuarial surpluses in the Superannuation Accounts. The courts below did not err in determining that the Plan members have no equitable interest in the surpluses in the Superannuation Accounts. Bill C‑78 thus could not have expropriated the Plan members’ property. Further, the Superannuation Acts are unambiguous in establishing that the Minister may debit any actuarial surplus and must debit all amounts exceeding 110 percent of the estimated liability under the Plans. Moreover, it is “extremely clear” that Parliament did not intend any compensation to be given to the Plan members for these debits, whether or not this constituted expropriation. It would be absurd to read Bill C‑78 as requiring the government to debit excess amounts and then compensate the Plan members for the amounts debited. Such an interpretation would be to convert the relevant provisions of Bill C‑78 into a distribution mechanism — where the surpluses would be reduced and the Plan members would receive some form of compensation in lieu of having surpluses in the Accounts — which was quite clearly not Parliament’s intent.
Cases Cited
Applied: Alberta v. Elder Advocates of Alberta Society, 2011 SCC 24, [2011] 2 S.C.R. 261; distinguished: Burke v. Hudson’s Bay Co., 2010 SCC 34, [2010] 2 S.C.R. 273; Ermineskin Indian Band and Nation v. Canada, 2009 SCC 9, [2009] 1 S.C.R. 222; referred to: Schmidt v. Air Products Canada Ltd., [1994] 2 S.C.R. 611; Nolan v. Kerry (Canada) Inc., 2009 SCC 39, [2009] 2 S.C.R. 678; Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Ontario (Superintendent of Financial Services), 2004 SCC 54, [2004] 3 S.C.R. 152; Bell ExpressVu Limited Partnership v. Rex, 2002 SCC 42, [2002] 2 S.C.R. 559; CanadianOxy Chemicals Ltd. v. Canada (Attorney General), [1999] 1 S.C.R. 743; United States of America v. Dynar, [1997] 2 S.C.R. 462; Galambos v. Perez, 2009 SCC 48, [2009] 3 S.C.R. 247; Guerin v. The Queen, [1984] 2 S.C.R. 335; Wewaykum Indian Band v. Canada, 2002 SCC 79, [2002] 4 S.C.R. 245; Frame v. Smith, [1987] 2 S.C.R. 99; Hodgkinson v. Simms, [1994] 3 S.C.R. 377; Gladstone v. Canada (Attorney General), 2005 SCC 21, [2005] 1 S.C.R. 325; Soulos v. Korkontzilas, [1997] 2 S.C.R. 217; Pacific National Investments Ltd. v. Victoria (City), 2004 SCC 75, [2004] 3 S.C.R. 575; Peter v. Beblow, [1993] 1 S.C.R. 980; Sorochan v. Sorochan, [1986] 2 S.C.R. 38; Pacific National Investments Ltd. v. Victoria (City), 2000 SCC 64, [2000] 2 S.C.R. 919.
Statutes and Regulations Cited
Act to amend the Civil Service Superannuation Act, S.C. 1944‑45, c. 34, s. 6.
Act to amend the Militia Pension Act, S.C. 1946, c. 59, s. 6.
Act to amend the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, S.C. 1947‑48, c. 28, s. 10.
Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C‑17, s. 55(9) to (13) .
Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, S.C. 1959, c. 21.
Civil Service Superannuation Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 50, s. 21.
Defence Services Pension Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 63.
Financial Administration Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F‑11, ss. 2 “Consolidated Revenue Fund”, “money”, “negotiable instrument”, “public money”, 17, 63, 64.
Financial Administration Act, S.C. 1951, c. 12, s. 2(e) “Consolidated Revenue Fund”.
Fisheries Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F‑14 .
Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985, R.S.C. 1985, c. 32 (2nd Supp .), s. 4 .
Public Pensions Reporting Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 13 (2nd Supp .), ss. 5 , 7 , 8 , 9(1) .
Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act, S.C. 1999, c. 34, s. 4 .
Public Service Labour Relations Act, S.C. 2003, c. 22 [as en. by Public Service Modernization Act , S.C. 2003, c. 22, s. 2 ], ss. 2(1) “employee”, “public service”, 113.
Public Service Modernization Act , S.C. 2003, c. 22, s. 2 .
Public Service Staff Relations Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P‑35 [rep. 2003, c. 22, s. 285], ss. 2 “employee”, 57.
Public Service Superannuation Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P‑36, ss. 3(1) “Superannuation Act”, 4, 43, 44, 45.
Public Service Superannuation Act, S.C. 1952‑53, c. 47, s. 33.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 241.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. R‑11, s. 29(9) to (13) .
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, S.C. 1959, c. 34.
Authors Cited
Canada. House of Commons. House of Commons Debates, vol. VI, 3rd Sess., 34th Parl., February 24, 1992, p. 7486.
Canada. Receiver General for Canada. Public Accounts of Canada 1996, vol. I, Summary Report and Financial Statements. Ottawa: Treasury Board, 1996.
Canada. Receiver General for Canada. Public Accounts of Canada 1997, vol. I, Summary Report and Financial Statements. Ottawa: Treasury Board, 1997.
Sullivan, Ruth. Sullivan on the Construction of Statutes, 5th ed. Markham, Ont.: LexisNexis, 2008.
APPEAL from a judgment of the Ontario Court of Appeal (Laskin, Gillese and Juriansz JJ.A.), 2010 ONCA 657, 102 O.R. (3d) 241, 275 O.A.C. 40, 84 C.C.P.B. 161, [2010] O.J. No. 4248 (QL), 2010 CarswellOnt 7532, affirming a decision of Panet J. (2007), 66 C.C.P.B. 54, 2007 CanLII 50603, [2007] O.J. No. 4577 (QL), 2007 CarswellOnt 7541. Appeal dismissed.
Paul J. J. Cavalluzzo, Hugh O’Reilly and Amanda Darrach, for the appellants the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada et al.
James Cameron, Andrew Raven and Andrew Astritis, for the appellants the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the Armed Forces Pensioners’/Annuitants’ Association of Canada et al.
Peter Southey, Dale Yurka and Christine Mohr, for the respondent.
Written submissions only by J. Gareth Morley, for the intervener.
The judgment of the Court was delivered by
Rothstein J. —
I. Introduction
[1] This appeal concerns three statutory, public sector pension plans, the members of which are federal public service employees, members of the Canadian Forces, and members of the RCMP. Each plan is administered by the Government of Canada, and each is a contributory, defined benefit plan.
[2] The statutes governing the plans establish for each one a “Superannuation Account”, which records payments into and out of the plan. In the 1990s, the credits to the Superannuation Accounts began to reflect actuarial surpluses (meaning that the credits exceeded the estimated cost of providing pension benefits). By March 1999, the total surpluses of the three plans had reached approximately $30.9 billion.
[3] Beginning with the 1990-91 Public Accounts (Canada’s annual financial reports), the government began to “amortize” the actuarial surpluses in the Superannuation Accounts. On April 1, 2000, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act, S.C. 1999, c. 34 (“Bill C-78”), came into force. Bill C-78 changed the way in which contributions to the plans were collected, managed and distributed. It also required the Minister to debit from the Superannuation Account certain amounts in excess of specified actuarial surplus ceilings. Unlike the effect of the prior amortization practice, on the basis of Bill C-78, the government debited over $28 billion directly from the Superannuation Accounts, thereby reducing the actuarial surplus in those accounts.
[4] The appellants (being various unions and employee/pensioner associations) filed suit, seeking relief that would require the government to return $28 billion to the plans. The trial judge dismissed the claims, and the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the decision ((2007), 66 C.C.P.B. 54 (Ont. S.C.J.), aff’d 2010 ONCA 657, 102 O.R. (3d) 241).
[5] In order to succeed, the plan members must establish that they have an equitable entitlement to the actuarial surpluses. Otherwise, their entitlement will be limited to the defined pension benefits set out in the governing statutes. In this connection, the nature of the Superannuation Accounts is an issue of central importance. The appellants have argued that the Superannuation Accounts were funds that contained assets in which an equitable interest could be claimed. They say their equitable interest is protected by a fiduciary duty on the part of the government, and, in the alternative, by a constructive trust based on unjust enrichment. The government counters that the Superannuation Accounts were merely accounting records and contain no assets to which an equitable interest could attach. A further issue raised on appeal is whether, if the plan members did have an interest in the actuarial surplus, that interest was extinguished by Bill C-78.
[6] I have determined that the courts below were correct to conclude that the Superannuation Accounts were not separate funds containing assets, but were rather accounting ledgers used to track pension-related payments, and to estimate Canada’s future pension liabilities in the Public Accounts. Therefore, the plan members’ entitlements are limited to the statutorily defined benefits set out in the Superannuation Acts.
[7] I have also concluded that the government was not subject to a fiduciary obligation in favour of the plan members with respect to the actuarial surplus. Nothing in the Superannuation Acts, or any other legislation, supports the contention that the government has undertaken to forsake the interests of all others (including taxpayers) in favour of the plan members with respect to the actuarial surplus. Further, there was no unjust enrichment and therefore no basis for a constructive trust. As the Superannuation Accounts did not contain assets in which the appellants had an interest, they did not suffer any detriment as a result of the government’s accounting treatment of the Superannuation Accounts. For the same reason, Bill C-78 did not expropriate any property of the plan members. Accordingly, I would dismiss the appeal.
II. Facts
A. The Pension Plans
[8] The summary of facts that follows parallels the findings of the Court of Appeal closely. There are three pension plans involved in this appeal (the “Plans”). They were established by statute for each of three groups: substantially all those who are employed in the federal public service; the members of the RCMP; and the regular force of the Canadian Forces (the “Plan members”). The relevant statutes are the Public Service Superannuation Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P-36 (“PSSA ”); the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-17 (“CFSA ”); and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. R-11 (“RCMPSA ”) (collectively, the “Superannuation Acts”).
[9] Each of the Superannuation Acts has legislative antecedents dating back to the late 19th or early 20th centuries. As currently enacted, they date from the coming into force of the present Superannuation Acts — January 1, 1954, for the PSSA , S.C. 1952-53, c. 47 (“PSSA 1954”); March 1, 1960, for the CFSA , S.C. 1959, c. 21; and April 1, 1960, for the RCMPSA , S.C. 1959, c. 34.
[10] The Plans are the same in all aspects relevant to these proceedings. For ease of reference, I will generally refer only to the PSSA , but the analysis and conclusions apply equally to the CFSA and the RCMPSA .
[11] The Superannuation Acts set out the terms of the Plans. They establish contributory, defined benefit pension plans. Membership in the Plans is compulsory for all eligible public service employees, members of the regular force of the Canadian Forces, and members of the RCMP.
[12] There are two relevant time periods in this appeal. The first period is up to and including March 31, 2000. It precedes the coming into force of Bill C-78, legislation that amended the Superannuation Acts and, thus, the Plans. The second period begins on April 1, 2000, when Bill C-78 came into effect.
[13] Employees are required to make a contribution to the relevant Plan, by way of reservation of salary. While the contribution rates for these Plans varied, employees generally contribute in the range of 5 to 7.5 percent of their salaries.
[14] The defined benefit to which an employee is entitled, upon retirement, is determined in accordance with a formula. The basic pension is two percent per year of pensionable service (to a maximum of 35 years) multiplied by the average of the best five consecutive years of salary.
[15] The terms of the Plans are not subject to collective bargaining. The PSSA Plan is excluded by virtue of s. 113(b) of the Public Service Labour Relations Act, enacted by the Public Service Modernization Act , S.C. 2003, c. 22, s. 2 (“PSLRA ”) (formerly s. 57(2) (b) of the Public Service Staff Relations Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P-35 (“PSSRA ”) (rep. S.C. 2003, c. 22, s. 285 )). The RCMPSA Plan is not subject to collective bargaining because RCMP members are expressly excepted from para. (d) of the definition of “employee” in s. 2 (l) of the PSLRA (formerly para. (e) of the definition of “employee” in s. 2(1) of the PSSRA ) and thus have no collective bargaining rights. The CFSA Plan is not subject to collective bargaining because members of the Canadian Forces are neither Crown employees nor part of the public service as defined in the PSLRA and therefore do not have collective bargaining rights. Nor are the Plans subject to the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985, R.S.C. 1985, c. 32 (2nd Supp .) (see s. 4 ).
[16] Employee contributions to the Plans were required to be deposited into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (“CRF”). “Consolidated Revenue Fund” is defined to mean “the aggregate of all public moneys that are on deposit at the credit of the Receiver General”, in the Financial Administration Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-11 (“FAA ”), s. 2 . Prior to April 1, 2000, contributions to the Plans were reflected as credits to the “Superannuation Accounts” (or “Accounts”), which were statutorily established for each of the Plans. Amounts payable pursuant to the Superannuation Acts (pension benefits) were paid from the CRF and debited to the appropriate Superannuation Account.
[17] In addition to credits reflecting Plan members’ contributions, the legislatively prescribed credits to the Superannuation Accounts prior to April 1, 2000, consisted of the following: (1) credits in respect of contributions by Public Service corporations; (2) government contribution credits; (3) additional actuarial liability credits (to cover actuarial liabilities); (4) transfers from other pension plans and Supplementary Retirement Benefits Accounts; and (5) interest credits on the balance in the Superannuation Accounts at the rate prescribed by regulation.
[18] The required government contribution credits varied over time. For example, the government was required to credit the Superannuation Account created for the PSSA Plan with amounts matching employee contributions in respect of current service: a year in arrears, from 1954 to 1991, and on a monthly basis, from 1991 to 2000. Additionally, further credits were required in relation to past or “buy-back” service, and to provide for the cost of benefits accrued in the month in relation to current service.
[19] The reporting of the government’s pension liabilities is subject to the FAA , the applicable Superannuation Act, and the Public Pensions Reporting Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 13 (2nd Supp .) (“PPRA ”). Pursuant to s. 64 of the FAA , for each fiscal year the Receiver General must prepare, and the President of the Treasury Board must lay before the House of Commons, an annual report known as the “Public Accounts”. The Public Accounts reflect the value of the assets and liabilities of Her Majesty in Right of Canada. They are the Government of Canada’s main financial reporting document.
[20] The two principal statements in the Public Accounts are the Statement of Financial Position, which sets out the assets and liabilities of the government, and the Statement of Operations and Accumulated Deficit, which sets out the government’s revenues and expenditures.
[21] The transactions and balances in the Superannuation Accounts are reported annually in the Public Accounts. The government’s annual credits made pursuant to the Superannuation Acts are shown as a government expense in the Statement of Operations and Accumulated Deficit. The amounts set out in the Superannuation Accounts are shown as an ongoing liability of the government in its Statement of Financial Position. The Superannuation Accounts have been classified as “Specified Purpose Accounts” under the liabilities section of the Statement of Financial Position since the 1980-81 fiscal year.
[22] As required by the Superannuation Acts and the PPRA , actuarial reports were received from time to time with respect to each of the Plans. The PPRA requires the Chief Actuary of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions to periodically estimate the cost of the government’s future pension obligations, and to cause a “certification of the assets” of the Plans (ss. 5, 8(1) and 9(1)). To the extent that the estimated cost of the pension liabilities is greater than the certified value of the “assets” reflected in the Superannuation Accounts, there is an “actuarial deficit”. On the other hand, where the certified value of the “assets” reflected in the Superannuation Accounts exceeds estimated pension liabilities, there is an “actuarial surplus”.
[23] In the 1990s, the actuarial valuations showed that the estimated cost of the present and future obligations for each of the three Plans was less than the total of the amounts showing in the Superannuation Accounts. The surplus arose as a result of a combination of factors, including low inflation rates, high interest rates, government-imposed restraints on salaries, the capping of indexing benefits in the 1980s, and changing assumptions in calculating the actuarial liability of the Plans. The surplus in the three Superannuation Accounts reached $16.6 billion by December 1992, climbing to $23.4 billion in March 1996 and $30.9 billion in March 1999.
B. Amortization of the Surplus
[24] In the 1990-91 fiscal year, the government began to “amortize” the actuarial surplus in the Superannuation Accounts. The word “amortize” is used to describe the actions undertaken by the government, over a number of years, to gradually reduce the impact of the actuarial surplus on the Public Accounts. The amortization consisted of the following actions: the government continued to credit its contributions to the Superannuation Accounts in accordance with the Superannuation Acts. However, the Public Accounts recorded lower net annual pension expenses. To accomplish this objective, the government booked into the Public Accounts negative expenses to reflect the amount of the surplus amortized during the year, thereby reducing the government’s total pension expenses. For the books to balance, the negative adjustments to pension expenses were equally reflected in reductions in the government’s total stated pension liabilities on its Statement of Financial Position. To make this happen, the amounts amortized each year were debited to contra-liability accounts (i.e., liability accounts having a debit balance) created in the Public Accounts. These accounts went by different names over the years — such as the “Allowance for Pension Adjustments” — but their function was the same: they allowed the government to reduce its stated net pension liabilities in the Public Accounts by the amount of the amortization without debiting the Superannuation Accounts themselves. The Superannuation Accounts maintained their credit balances, unaffected by the amortization, but the debit balances in the separate allowance accounts partially offset them in the Public Accounts. The government’s stated net pension liabilities were in this way gradually brought toward the actuarial valuation of Plan liabilities (i.e., the surplus was gradually reduced), but the balances in the Superannuation Accounts were not affected.
[25] The effect of this “amortization” was therefore twofold: it reduced the government’s annual budget deficit (or increased the annual budget surplus) by reducing annual pension expenditures, and it brought the government’s net debt down by reducing the net pension liabilities to an amount closer to the actuarial estimates of the government’s future pension obligations.
[26] During the 1990s, the government amortized a total of $18.6 billion, with further amounts being amortized after the year 2000.
C. Bill C-78
[27] In 1999, the government introduced Bill C-78, which came into force on April 1, 2000. It made significant changes to the Superannuation Acts. It established a Pension Fund in each of the Superannuation Acts that replaced the Superannuation Accounts for post-March 31, 2000 service (“Pension Funds”). Since April 1, 2000, employee and government contributions in respect of current service have been made to the Pension Funds.
[28] Under Bill C-78, the amounts in the Pension Funds were to be invested externally. Bill C-78 established an investment board to manage the assets in the Pension Funds. One of the objects of the investment Board is to manage the amounts that are transferred to it, pursuant to the amended Superannuation Act, “in the best interests of the contributors and beneficiaries under those Acts” (s. 4(1)(a)).
[29] Bill C-78 added s. 44(9) to (13) to the PSSA . In general terms, these subsections both grant discretion to and create an obligation on the Minister to debit the Superannuation Accounts to reduce the actuarial surplus. While the Minister has the discretion to debit the Superannuation Accounts with any amount of the surplus between 100 percent and 110 percent of the amount estimated to be required to meet the cost of benefits payable, as determined from the actuarial reports, the Minister is required to debit the Accounts for any actuarial surplus that exceeds 110 percent of the amount required to pay future benefits.
[30] Bill C-78 provided that after January 1, 2004, employee contribution rates would no longer be set by legislation but would be set at the discretion of the Treasury Board, subject to certain restrictions. Employees faced a legislated increase of 15 to 33 percent in contribution rates in the years from 2000 to 2003. In 2005, the Treasury Board announced further increases.
[31] Bill C-78 also changed the basis for the government’s annual contributions. Instead of being required to make contributions matching those made by employees, the government’s contributions are now determined by the President of the Treasury Board, based on the actuarial valuations for each Plan.
[32] All benefits for pensionable service prior to April 1, 2000, when paid, are charged to the appropriate Superannuation Account. However, benefits paid for service thereafter are paid from the appropriate Pension Fund.
[33] Between 2001 and 2004, the government relied on Bill C-78 to debit over $28 billion from the Superannuation Accounts. Since the effect of the prior amortization was to reduce the annual deficit or increase the annual surplus, and to reduce the government’s net debt, the debiting of any amounts already amortized had no effect on Canada’s financial position.
D. The Appellants’ Action
[34] The appellants brought an action for the return of the actuarial surplus reflected in the Superannuation Accounts, arguing that the government had breached its trust and fiduciary duties by amortizing and debiting the surplus. The appellants also maintained that Bill C-78 did not extinguish Plan members’ interest in the surplus as it did not evidence an unambiguous intent to expropriate without compensation. The trial judge dismissed the appellants’ action. The Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed their appeal.
[35] In their appeal in this Court, the appellants seek a declaration that the Plan members have an equitable interest in the outstanding balance in the Superannuation Accounts as of March 31, 2000. They say that the equitable interest includes the right to have the entire amount in the Superannuation Accounts used solely for the purpose of providing pension benefits to Plan members. In the alternative, the appellants seek a declaration that the equitable interest of the Plan members constitutes a right to have a share of the actuarial surplus in the Superannuation Accounts used for the purpose of providing benefits to the Plan members. Under this alternative, the appellants have prorated their share in accordance with the ratio of employee and employer contributions as of March 31, 2000. The Plan members’ contributions were the equivalent of 42.2 percent of the actuarial surplus on that date. They also seek a declaration that ss. 44(9) and 44(10) of Bill C-78 do not authorize the reduction from the Superannuation Accounts of any amount in which Plan members have an equitable interest without compensation. And they seek an order that the Superannuation Accounts be credited with all amounts that were removed following Bill C-78 in which the Plan members have an equitable interest, together with interest.
E. Relevant Statutory Provisions
[36] The relevant statutory provisions are set forth in the Appendix at the conclusion of these reasons.
III. Judgments Below
A. Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Panet J.) (2007), 66 C.C.P.B. 54
[37] The appellants brought a claim for breach of trust and a claim for breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the outstanding balance in the Superannuation Accounts, as of March 31, 2000.
[38] In considering the statutes and other documents, Panet J. found that the trust requirement that there be certainty of intention was not present. Panet J. also concluded that there was no certainty of subject matter. He found that there was no separate or segregated fund. Panet J. rejected the appellants’ claim for breach of fiduciary duty, as there was no scope for the exercise of any discretion or power, a necessary element of a fiduciary relationship. Panet J. held that the government had no discretion because the PSSA was a complete statutory code.
[39] T