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 AgriCorp is an agent of the Crown established under the AgriCorp Act, 1996 (Ontario);

And whereas, AgriCorp has requested to be designated as a participating employer in the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) set out in Schedule 1 to the Public Service Pension Act, 1989 and in the Public Service Supplementary Benefits Account continued under Order 867/2019 as may be amended from time to time (PSSBA);

And whereas, pursuant to a separate Order in Council, the Lieutenant Governor in Council is designating the employees of AgriCorp as classes of employees who are either required or eligible to join the PSPP effective May 1, 2021;

And whereas certain classes of AgriCorp employees currently participate in a pension plan known as the Pension Plan for Employees of AgriCorp, effective January 1, 1997, with registration number 1034321 (the “AgriCorp Plan”).

And whereas since February 2017, AgriCorp employees whose pension entitlement is limited under AgriCorp Plan by the maximum pension payable pursuant to the provisions of the Income Tax Act (Canada) also participate in a plan entitled the AgriCorp Supplemental Employee Retirement Plan (the “AgriCorp SERP”);

And whereas the PSSBA exists in order to provide PSPP members with pension benefits in excess of those permitted for registered pension plans under the Income Tax Act (Canada);

And whereas, pursuant to a separate Order in Council, the PSPP is being amended to authorize the Ontario Pension Board to enter into one or more written agreements with AgriCorp in accordance with Section 81 of the Pension Benefits Act to provide for the transfer to the PSPP of the assets and liabilities of the AgriCorp Plan in respect of pension credit accrued prior to May 1, 2021 for members, former members and retired members of AgriCorp Plan, as well as other persons who are entitled to payments from the AgriCorp Plan;

And whereas the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers it reasonable and appropriate for the pension credit accrued by AgriCorp employees and former employees prior to May 1, 2021 under the AgriCorp Plan to be eligible for inclusion in the calculation of benefits in accordance with the terms of the PSSBA;

Now therefore pursuant to Section 6.01 of the Public Service Pension Act, Order in Council 867/2019 is amended as follows:

  1. Section 1 of the Order is amended by adding a new definition of "AgriCorp Plan " immediately following the definition of “administrator”:

    "AgriCorp Plan " means the Pension Plan for Employees of AgriCorp, effective January 1, 1997 with registration number 1034321.

  2. Section 1 of the Order is amended by adding a new definition of "AgriCorp Supplemental Member" immediately following the definition of “AgriCorp Plan”:

    "AgriCorp Supplemental Member" means a member who is or was an employee of AgriCorp and who, as of April 30, 2021, had accrued credit in the AgriCorp Plan and who joined the Public Service Pension Plan effective May 1, 2021.

  3. Section 5 of the Order is amended by replacing “under Section 36.4 of the Plan” with “under section 36.4 or 36.5 of the Plan”
  4. The Order is further amended by adding a new Section 15.1 immediately following Section 15.

    15.1. Despite sections 6 and 11 of this Order, if assets are transferred into the Plan pursuant to Section 36.5 of the Plan, the following rules apply for an AgriCorp Supplemental Member:

    1. AgriCorp shall transfer into the Account an amount that is determined by an actuary who is employed or retained by the Crown to be equal to the value of the pension benefits that are or will become payable collectively to the AgriCorp Supplemental Members in accordance with Section 3 of this Order for the credit each member accrued in the AgriCorp Plan in respect of service prior to May 1, 2021; and
    2. Upon the completion of the transfer described in paragraph (a), each AgriCorp Supplemental Member shall be deemed to have met the requirements for member contributions under sections 6 and 11 of this Order for the credit described in Section 5 of this Order that each member accrued in the AgriCorp Plan in respect of service before May 1, 2021.
    3. Former AgriCorp employees and their beneficiaries who are entitled to a deferred pension or other payment or who commence receipt of a pension or other payment under the AgriCorp Supplemental Employee Retirement Plan (AgriCorp SERP) prior to the date on which the  assets are transferred from the AgriCorp Plan to the Plan pursuant to section 81 of the Pension Benefits Act  shall be entitled to payment from the PSSBA in an amount equal to the pension benefits or other payment that are paid or payable to them in accordance with the terms and conditions of the AgriCorp SERP as of the date immediately preceding the date on which the assets are transferred.
    4. If the assets and liabilities in the AgriCorp Plan in respect of credit accrued prior to May 1, 2021 are transferred to the Plan, and if any of the persons described in subsection 36.5(5) of the Plan accrue credit in the Plan between May 1, 2021 and the date on which the assets are transferred from the AgriCorp Plan to the Plan pursuant to section 81 of the Pension Benefits Act, their pension benefits in respect of that credit shall be calculated separately in accordance with the terms of the PSSBA.
    5. For the persons described in subsection 36.5(5) of the Plan, all conditions, terms and rules that applied and options that were available for the payment, eligibility and entitlement to a pension or other payment under the AgriCorp SERP as of the date immediately preceding the date on which the assets are transferred shall apply to the payment, entitlement and eligibility to the pension or other payment provided under paragraph (c).
Treasury Board Secretariat

Approved and Ordered: April 22, 2021