Vol. 148, No. 17 — August 13, 2014

Registration

SOR/2014-188 July 31, 2014

PUBLIC SERVICE SUPERANNUATION ACT

Order Amending Schedule I to the Public Service Superannuation Act

P.C. 2014-900 July 31, 2014

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the President of the Treasury Board, pursuant to subsection 42(3) (see footnote a) of the Public Service Superannuation Act (see footnote b), makes the annexed Order Amending Schedule I to the Public Service Superannuation Act.

ORDER AMENDING SCHEDULE I TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE SUPERANNUATION ACT

AMENDMENT

1. Part I of Schedule I to the Public Service Superannuation Act (see footnote 1) is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Ltd.
Laboratoires Nucléaires Canadiens Ltée

COMING INTO FORCE

2. This Order comes into force on the day on which it is registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Order.)

Issues

The Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Ltd. (CNLL) was recently created as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) to support the Government of Canada’s restructuring of AECL. As part of the restructuring, the operations of AECL and the vast majority of its employees, who are participants in the public service pension plan, will be reorganized into CNLL, which will be a Crown corporation. In order for the employees who are transferred to CNLL to continue to participate in the public service pension plan for the period that CNLL remains a Crown corporation, CNLL must be added to Part I of Schedule I of the Public Service Superannuation Act.

Background

In June 2012, the Government of Canada made the decision to restructure AECL’s Nuclear Laboratories with a view to increasing operational rigour and operate the Nuclear Laboratories more efficiently and effectively through private sector management.

In December 2012, the Government of Canada made the decision to put the Nuclear Laboratories’ operations under a Government-owned, contractor-operated (GoCo) model, but stipulated that AECL remain a Crown corporation and be responsible for overseeing the GoCo operator.

In November 2013, the Government decided to implement a GoCo arrangement that will see AECL’s operations and virtually all of its approximately 3 300 personnel transferred to a site operating company. AECL has since incorporated CNLL to be this site operating company. It is anticipated that CNLL will apply to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) to obtain the licences required to operate the Nuclear Laboratories and that these licences will be transferred to it from AECL at the same time as the employee transfer.

Following a procurement process to select a private sector operator and the conclusion of contractual arrangements with the successful bidder, the shares of the site operating company will be transferred to the private sector operator for the duration of the contract.

The site operating company model allows the employees of AECL to be moved to the site operating company through an internal reorganization that avoids employee termination and subsequent rehiring, and at the same time leaves collective agreements and employment contracts in place. As the site operating company is an enduring entity, it remains the employer, even if the GoCo contract is tendered to a different private sector operator in the future.

A key objective of the AECL restructuring process is to coordinate the timing of the procurement of a private sector management, the incorporation of the site operating company, the transfer of nuclear licences and other regulatory obligations and the transfer of operational personnel to the site operating company.

Objectives

This Order ensures continued participation in the public service pension plan for employees who are reorganized from AECL into CNLL, its wholly-owned subsidiary. This Order also ensures that new employees hired by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Ltd. while it is a Crown corporation are eligible to participate in the public service pension plan.

Description

The Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Ltd. has been added to Part I of Schedule I of the Public Service Superannuation Act. For the purposes of this Act, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Ltd. forms part of the public service.

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to this Order, because it does not impose an administrative burden on business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to this Order, as there is no impact on small business.

Consultation

Consultations have occurred throughout the restructuring process with affected stakeholders. These include consultations with industry, academia and communities, including through a Request for Expression of Interest process in February 2012; consultations with prospective bidders through the Request for Interest process of July 2013; and the initiation of dialogue with prospective private sector operators through the Request for Response Evaluation process that was launched on March 7, 2014.

Prospective bidders and the nuclear industry have been supportive of the process. AECL management has also engaged with AECL personnel as the restructuring process has evolved to inform them on how the process will affect them.

Where possible, the Government has an interest in minimizing the impact of restructuring activities on CNLL employees while it remains a Crown corporation. Employees have been informed that no layoffs are planned at this time and have been made aware that CNLL’s transition to private sector management includes their eventual participation in a pension plan established by the successful private sector bidder.  In the meantime, employees continued participation in the public sector pension plan is expected to be supported by them and their representatives.

Rationale

The GoCo contract arrangements between AECL, CNLL, and the contractor will require that the contractor ensure that CNLL establish a new private sector pension plan for its employees. Since the contractor will be responsible for shaping the new pension plan (and for ensuring that employee and employer contributions are made), it would be inadvisable to create this plan prior to share transfer. At the same time, collective agreements and employment contracts of current AECL personnel require that a pension plan be in place. In order to avoid creating a new temporary plan and generating uncertainty about pension benefits, CNLL personnel will continue to participate in the public service pension plan for the period that CNLL remains a Crown corporation.

Contact

Rosalba L’Orfano
Senior Director
Pension Policy and Programs
Pensions and Benefits Sector
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0R5
Telephone: 613-952-3121