Mr. Chase: Mr. Speaker, world-wide economic conditions have impacted all Canadians, but they’ve had dire consequences for a group of former Nortel employees living in Alberta whose LTD and pension benefits were cut off when Nortel collapsed. 

To add insult to injury, the federal government permitted the sale of Nortel’s assets without guaranteeing employee compensation as a precondition. To our EI minister. Ontario is the only province with a pension benefits guarantee fund that’s funded entirely by corporate contributions. Will the minister commit to similar measures in this province to protect vulnerable Albertans?

The Speaker: The hon. minister.

Mr. Lukaszuk: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s always horrible when a situation like this occurs and workers and their families are left without income.

I have to say two things. Number one, it’s very rare for it to occur in Alberta. I must say that my provincial counterparts as early as the beginning of this week have raised this issue at our federal-provincial-territorial meeting to the federal minister. It is squarely a federal matter, so if there is any provincial overlay, I would suggest the member direct his subsequent two questions to our minister of finance.

The Speaker: The hon. member.

Mr. Chase: Thank you. To whoever wishes to answer, I am pleased to hear that these discussions are occurring. The effect is going to be felt in Alberta because we’ll be picking up the pieces. Since Nortel’s bankruptcy proceedings began, what efforts has the ministry made to ensure that the federal government amends the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to provide protection for employees affected by corporate bankruptcy? The hon. minister of finance would be fine.

The Speaker: The hon. minister.

Dr. Morton: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I would have assumed the hon. member would know, both of Nortel’s pension plans are registered in Ontario and regulated by the Ontario superintendent of pensions. That’s because of their location of Ontario. There is a federal dimension as well. We have been in touch, as the other minister has indicated, with the feds, but this is largely outside of our jurisdiction.

Mr. Chase: What I’m hoping is that this government will stand up for Alberta’s former Nortel employees who are being directly affected by the bankruptcy. It’s our problem now, and working with the feds is part of the solution, but we have to come up with a made-in-Alberta solution as well.

Mr. Speaker, the Ontario government has promised former Nortel employees that the first $1,000 of their monthly pension payments will be guaranteed, and Quebec offered some pension protection to Nortel retirees in October of 2009 . . .

The Speaker: The hon. minister. [interjection] The hon. minister has the floor.

Dr. Morton: Well, again, Mr. Speaker, it’s not surprising that Ontario has done this since both of the Nortel pension plans are registered in Ontario and regulated by Ontario. I would tell the hon. member and the House that the Alberta superintendent is consulting with Alberta Justice currently as to whether or not we would have the opportunity to intervene in the March 3 hearing about the Nortel settlement and, if we can, to possibly object to that.

Alberta Hansard, February 25, 2010

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