On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, by and with the advice and concurrence of the Executive Council of Ontario, orders that:

Whereas under the terms of the Public Service Pension Plan, members who temporarily work part-time cannot accrue full-time pension credit under the Public Service Pension Plan;

Whereas based on the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Fraser v Canada (Attorney General)(2020), the provisions of the Public Service Pension Plan that restrict temporary part-time employees from buying back full time service likely raise constitutional risks that could give rise to discrimination claims;

And whereas the Public Service Pension Plan buyback provisions are being amended to align the Public Service Pension Plan with the law on discrimination following the Fraser decision;

And whereas it has been identified that the survivor pension that an eligible child is entitled to varies depending on when the member earned the pensionable service and if the member died before or after retirement under the Public Service Pension Plan;

And whereas there is a desire to amend the Public Service Pension Plan in order to provide a consistent survivor pension to eligible children.

Now therefore pursuant to subsection 6(1) of the Public Service Pension Act, the Public Service Pension Plan set out in Schedule 1 to the Public Service Pension Act, 1989, as amended, is further amended effective on the date that this Order is made, as follows:

  1. Section 1 definition is amended by adding “eligible period of reduced pay” has the same meaning as set out under the Income Tax Act (Canada) and the regulations under that Act;”
  2. Section 1 definition is amended by adding “temporary part-time work arrangement” means a temporary eligible period of reduced pay when the member’s working hours are reduced on a temporary basis under an agreement between the member and the employer;”
  3. Section 8 is amended by changing section heading subsection (9) from “Leaves Not to Exceed 5 Years” to “Leaves, Temporary Part-Time Work Arrangement and Purchase of Credit for Prior Service Not to Exceed 5 Years.”
  4. Subsection 8 (9) is amended by replacing “clauses 11 (1) (e) and (f)” with “clauses 11(1)(e), (f) and (j),”
  5. Section 11 is amended by adding the following as subsection (1)(j)
    (j) equal to the reduction in the member’s working hours during a temporary part-time work arrangement;
  6. Subsection 11(3) is amended by replacing “clause 1(b),(f) or (i), a member shall pay to the Fund” in the opening flush, with “clause 1(b),(f),(i) or (j), a member shall pay into the Fund”.
  7. Subsection 11(3) is further amended by revoking subsection (3)(a), and replacing with:
    1. the annual salary rate of the member on,
      1. in the case of credit referred to in clause (1)(j), during the temporary part-time work arrangement, and
      2. in all other cases, the date when the member's written application containing all information required by the Board for the purchase of the credit is received by the Board;
  8. Subsection 11(6) is amended by removing “and” at the end of subsection (6)(a)(iii), adding “and;” at the end of subsection (6)(a)(iv), and adding the following as subsection (6)(a)(v)
    (v) in the case of credit referred to under clause (1)(j):
    1. the last day of the period for which credit is being purchased; and
    2. July 31, 2021.
  9. Section 11 is further amended by adding the following subsections (12) and (13)

    Temporary Part-Time Work Arrangement

    (12) A member may not purchase credit in the Plan under clause (1)(j) unless, on the first day of the period for which credit is being purchased, the member had been employed by the employer or its predecessor for at least 36 months.

    (13) The requirement in subsection (12) shall have effect only while the requirement to the same effect in the Income Tax Act (Canada) or any regulations under that Act is in force.

  10. Subsection 19(6)(c) is amended by replacing “sections 20 or 23” with “sections 20, 22 or 23”.
  11. Subsections 22(1)(d) and (e) are amended adding “subject to subsections (6) and (10),” to the beginning of each.
  12. Section 22 is further amended by adding the following subsections (6), (7), (8), (9), (10) and (11).

    Survivor Pension to Child

    (6) Subject to clause (1)(c), a survivor pension is payable to an eligible child or among eligible children under eighteen years of age, or deemed to be eighteen years of age pursuant to subsection 23(3), on the death of a member who dies while a member of the Plan or after ceasing to be a member of the Plan and before the month when payment of his or her pension is to commence, equal to one half of the member’s or former member’s pension computed in accordance with section 17 as though the member or former member had attained sixty-five years of age and on the basis only of the member’s or former member’s credit in the Plan for employment or service after 1986. The survivor pension payable under this section is payable until such time as the child or children no longer meet the criteria pursuant to subsection 19(6).

    (7) If the spouse of a member or former member elects a deferred pension under clause (3)(b) and the spouse dies before the month when the deferred pension is to commence, a survivor pension is payable to an eligible child or among eligible children under eighteen years of age, or deemed to be eighteen years of age pursuant to subsection 23(3), equal to the pension calculated in subsection (6). The survivor pension payable under this section is payable until such time as the child or children no longer meet the criteria pursuant to subsection 19(6).

    (8) If the spouse of a member or former member dies after commencement of the pension under clause (2), a survivor pension is payable to an eligible child or among eligible children under eighteen years of age, or deemed to be eighteen years of age pursuant to subsection 23(3), equal to the pension calculated in subsection (6). The survivor pension payable under this section is payable until such time as the child or children no longer meet the criteria pursuant to subsection 19(6).

    Payment to Child

    (9) Payment of a survivor pension to an eligible child or eligible children shall commence in the month following the month when,

    1. with respect to the pension provided for in subsection (6), the member or former member dies; or
    2. with respect to the pension provided for in subsection (7) or (8), the spouse dies.

    (10) The eligible child or children to whom an immediate pension is payable under subsection (6) or (7) may, in writing in the approved form delivered to the Board in the time fixed by the Board, elect to receive the commuted value of that pension in a lump sum.

    Reduction to Benefit Payable to Beneficiary or Estate

    (11) The commuted value payable to the designated beneficiary under clause

    (1)(d) or to the estate of the member or former member under clause

    (1)(e), as applicable, shall be reduced by the commuted value of the survivor pension paid under subsection (6), (7) or (8).

Treasury Board Secretariat

Approved and Ordered: December 21, 2021