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National Trust
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For more information call us at 1.800.451.3225 |
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Updated as at October 30, 2007:
Pour consulter cette page en français, veuillez
cliquez ici.
Current Status
Your Committee is pleased to report that progress is being made. As of the date
of this posting, 3,788 of the 4,974 members in the Surplus Sharing Group have
responded to the November 2006 mailing by voting “YES” to the Proposal and
retaining Koskie Minsky LLP. There have only been 8
“NO” votes.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice certified the matter as a class
proceeding under the Ontario Class Proceedings Act, 1992 by court order
and endorsement dated October 5, 2007. To view a copy of the order, please
click here. To view a copy of the endorsement, please
click here. The class is made up of all members of the Surplus Sharing
Group (the "Sharing Group"). The purpose of the court proceeding is to obtain a
court order approving the surplus sharing proposal and make it binding on all
eligible members. Please
click here to view a copy of the notice of application commencing the
court proceedings.
The notice of certification was published in The Globe & Mail and La
Presse on October 27, 2007. To view a copy of the notice of
certification, please
click here. A copy of the notice of certification was mailed directly
to the 8 members of the Sharing Group who voted "NO" to the surplus sharing
arrangement (or the "Proposal") and to those who have not yet voted on the
Proposal. For those who voted "YES" to the Proposal, Koskie
Minsky LLP, pursuant to our retainer with these Sharing Group
members, accepted the notice on their behalf.
If you do not wish to be a class member in the court proceeding, you can opt
out by following the instructions in the notice of certification. This entails
sending in your intention to opt out in writing, by first class mail or fax to
416-977-3316, to: Koskie Minsky LLP
Barristers and Solicitors
20 Queen Street West
Suite 900, Box 52
Toronto, Ontario M5H 3R3
Attention: National Trust Pension Surplus A written notice of
intention to opt out of the class proceeding must be received by
Koskie Minsky LLP on or before 5:00 p.m. eastern time on November 27,
2007. If you do not opt out on or before this date, you will be deemed
a class member and will not be permitted to opt out of the class at a later
date.
Please remember that there is no direct legal cost to you to participate in the
Proposal, unless you opt out of the class proceedings. If you opt out of the
class proceeding, you will no longer be represented by Koskie
Minsky LLP, and will be responsible for obtaining your own legal
advice at your own expense.
Proceedings before the pension regulators will be commenced once the court
proceedings are completed at a settlement hearing. That hearing, to seek court
approval of the Proposal in settlement of the class proceeding, is currently
scheduled for December 13, 2007. The regulatory proceedings will be undertaken
to obtain the necessary approvals to allow for the distribution of surplus. We
hope to obtain these regulatory approvals before the end of 2008, with a
surplus distribution to follow. We will keep you posted, via website updates,
on the progress of these applications.
The Toronto Star Article
On October 12, 2007, a brief article appeared in The Toronto Star in regards to
this surplus sharing arrangement. To see a copy of this article, please
click here. While the article was generally positive, some factual
aspects in the article are inaccurate and need to be clarified. For example,
the article states that the estimated surplus to be shared 50/50 is $60
million. The information packages that were sent out to Sharing Group members
in November 2006 used an estimated figure of $81 million. This latter figure,
as per the November 2006 mailing, is more accurate.
Also, while The Star's statement that the Bank will recognize transferred
members' prior years of service in the National Trust pension plan within the
successor Scotiabank Plan is generally accurate, to be clear, this recognition
only applies with respect to post-integration date (i.e. Bank) service; that
is, the portion of service for which assets and liabilities will be transferred
to the successor Scotiabank plan. The portion of service for which assets and
liabilities are not transferred will not be recognized for benefit accrual
purposes under the successor plan.
Finally, the article may have given the impression that approval of the surplus
proposal has already been received. In fact, the parties have to appear in
court again to request that the court approve the settlement. As noted above,
the hearing is currently scheduled for December 13, 2007. Following the
settlement hearing, as also noted above, regulatory approvals will also be
required before any surplus can be distributed.
These points are subtle inaccuracies but required clarification.
Have You Failed to Respond to the November 2006 Mailing?
If you have not yet returned your Authorization and Retainer, it is not too
late to do so. You may be surprised to learn that over 1,200 eligible Surplus
Sharing Group members have not responded. Your Committee recommends that each
eligible member vote "YES" to the Proposal and asks that you return your
Authorization and Retainer form to Koskie Minsky LLP
in the envelope provided as soon as possible. In order to make sure you receive
your share of the surplus, your current, accurate name and address details must
be on record.
Previous Updates
All previous website updates can be found by clicking "Legal Updates" on the
left side of this screen
Questions and Changes of Address
Please feel free to contact the Koskie Minsky LLP toll-free telephone hotline
(1-800-451-3225) and e-mail address (nationaltrustpension@kmlaw.ca)
with any questions you may have. If you need to update your address, please do so
in writing. Send this information via fax to 416-977-3316 or mail to:
National Trust Pension
c/o Koskie Minsky LLP
20 Queen Street West
Suite 900, Box 52
Toronto, ON, M5H 3R3
Attention: Communications Department Koskie Minsky LLP will do
their best to return your call in a timely manner.
You may also discuss less technical matters with your Regional Negotiating or
Advisory Committee Member (click here
for a full listing).
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