Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/01/2010 (4877 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — A provincial pension commission has ruled that the University of Winnipeg must pay $8.8 million to more than 600 current and retired staff.

U of W has known for several years that the ruling was coming, having lost a series of appeals, but had not known the exact amount owing.

The provincial government has approved the university’s taking out a long-term loan to borrow the money, but repaying it will cost the financially-strapped university $600,000 a year in its operating budget, already expected to face significant cuts.

The pension situation goes back to 1999, when the university and its employees identified a pension surplus which they agreed to share.

The market crash after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 wiped out the surplus, and employees took legal action to try to force the university to continue paying the money.