Nova Scotia Labour Board to release unredacted decision on newspaper pension plan, overturns confidentiality arguments
April 18, 2023
The Nova Scotia Labour Board (“the Board”) is set to publish an unredacted decision regarding a newspaper company’s pension plan after finding that the Board is not subject to confidentiality provisions in Nova Scotia’s pension legislation that apply to the province’s Superintendent of Pensions.
The Halifax Herald (“the company”) initially sought a hearing at the Board to challenge the Superintendent’s Notice of Intended Decision ordering that the company make payments to the defined benefit portion of its pension plan for the years 2018 and 2019. When the Board reached its decision, the company sought to have the reasons redacted.
In support of its case for confidentiality, Halifax Herald claimed the Board should be subject to the limits in s.15(3) of Nova Scotia’s Pension Benefits Act that apply to the Superintendent. This provision generally bars the Superintendent from disclosing information that is filed or collected by or submitted to it to anyone except identified parties, including government and pension authorities, or parties entitled to view a particular plan’s documents, such as members and their spouses.
However, the Board found that the legislature had not intended to extend the application of section 15(3) to persons other than the Superintendent. The Board also concluded that publication of the decision in this case would serve a vital public purpose, but added that materials filed with the Board as part of the hearing will remain confidential.
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