EDMONTON – The Alberta government should not waste taxpayers’ money trying to deny pension benefits to some provincial employees in same-sex relationships while it gives the same benefit to other employees living in the same circumstances, says the president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees.

The government has already extended pension benefits to managers living in same-sex relationships, said AUPE President Dan MacLennan.

"Fairness and common sense demand that the same benefits be given to all provincial employees," MacLennan said. "It’s really very simple. Our members shouldn’t have to be promoted into management to get these same lawful benefits.

"Since the change at the management level came about because of the same kind of legal action, we feel confident about our chances of success," MacLennan added. "For the province to continue fighting this not only perpetuates an injustice, it wastes taxpayers’ money."

MacLennan noted that the change in benefit entitlements for managerial employees of the province came about because of a lawsuit brought forward by Edmonton lawyer Julie Lloyd on behalf of a man enrolled in the province’s Management Employees Pension Plan.

Lloyd is now representing AUPE and an AUPE member who has lived in a same-sex relationship for more than 20 years in the challenge of the rules of the Public Service Pension Plan.

AUPE represents more than 18,000 people who are direct employees of the provincial government, but most of the province’s largest union’s approximately 47,500 members are employees of the same agencies, commissions, boards and colleges whose managers now qualify for same-sex pension benefits.

The Management Employees Pension Plan covers approximately 3,400 managers in government departments, agencies and other bodies.

Provincial officials have indicated they made the change because they were about to lose the court challenge of the pension plan’s rules by a veteran public service manager who wanted his long-term same-sex partner to have the same pension benefits granted to heterosexual spouses.

Lawyer Julie Lloyd said that the province has no excuse for continuing to delay the change. "They have had a great length of time to deal with this and in fact have done so in great detail in the Management Employees Pension Plan."

She noted that asking employees who live in same-sex relationships to wait for changes to be made is asking them to take a risk, because their benefits cannot be changed once a partner dies or retires. "So this is about whether or not you get the benefit, not about when you get it."

MacLennan noted that AUPE had sought the same change in its contracts during the last round of negotiations for a new contract for direct employees of the provincial government.

MacLennan said that if the province fails to change the rules to all its pension plans, AUPE is also prepared to go to court to challenge the rules of the Local Authorities Pension Plan.


For more information, contact:
Dan MacLennan, President, AUPE, 780-930-3301 or 780-910-8392 (cellular phone)
Julie Lloyd, Lawyer, 780-442-4417
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone)

Back to Releases