Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Our Retirement Plan Beneficiaries Act provides that the owners of certain retirement and pension plans may designate a beneficiary who would receive the benefits of such a plan, in the event that the owner of a plan died without a will. Our act is based on uniform legislation developed in the 1970s by representatives of the federal, provincial and territorial governments. The intention was that the owner of a registered retirement savings plan, or an RRSP, could designate a beneficiary without a will in the same manner as other pension plans.
Recent cases in Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario have raised questions about the effectiveness of such designation of beneficiaries with respect to these funds. All other jurisdictions with wording similar to that in our act have now amended their legislation to make it clear that RRSPs could be covered by a designation. Most have also passed amendments to cover registered retirement income funds, or RRIFs.
In the Northwest Territories, members of the public presently designate beneficiaries under the impression that their designation is effective. At least one bank has circulated a caution to customers that such designations may not be effective. This is the sort of matter which the public would expect to be uniform across Canada because RRSPs are portable and marked nationally.
The amendment would remove all doubt about this matter and the public and vendors of these plans would have the comfort that designations of beneficiaries for RRSPs and RRIFs are legally secure. The amendment would also allow for the Commissioner and Executive Council to include future plans and funds in the definition of "plans" by order so that amendments will not be required when new types of plans are developed which do not fit neatly into the definition of "plans" in the act. For example, RRIFs did not exist when the legislation was developed in the 1970s.
Mr. Chairman, if there are any questions, I shall be happy to ask my officials to help me answer them. Thank you.