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Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

MTS pensioners to take 14-year battle to Supreme Court

By: Martin Cash

Posted: 10/25/2012 12:29 PM | Comments: 0 | Last Modified: 10/25/2012 2:37 PM | Updates

MTS pensioners have succeeded in keeping the fight alive in their battle with the company after being granted leave to appeal its case to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The 14-year-old legal dispute is over the disposition of a $43.3-million pension surplus that existed at the time the company transformed itself from a crown corporation into a publicly-traded corporation.

In January, 2010 the Court of Queen’s Bench ruled that MTS had to repay that amount as well as pay interest dating back to 1997. That would probably end up costing the company about $100 million.

In February the Manitoba Court of Appeal overturned that lower-court ruling, saying there was no breach of an original memorandum of agreement.

Now the unions and pensioners have succeeded in gaining the right to appeal to the Supreme Court.

A spokesman for the Telecommunication Employees Association of Manitoba Inc. - International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (TEAM-IFPTE) Local 161 said they’re pleased, but understands it is just another step in a lengthy process.

Paul Beauregard, MTS Allstream’s chief legal officer and corporate secretary, said in a prepared statement, "It is unfortunate that this historical matter continues to work its way through the court system. We do not believe that the pending hearing will change the unanimous decision of the Manitoba Court of Appeal, which correctly applied the Supreme Court’s recent rulings clarifying the state of pension law in Canada."

History

Updated on Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 2:37 PM CDT: corrects typo

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