EDMONTON – Alberta Union of Provincial Employees President Dan MacLennan has praised the government of Alberta for its announcement today that it is changing regulations to all six provincial pension plans to include partners in same-sex relationships.

However, MacLennan said, today’s announcement by the province in response to a lawsuit brought forward by AUPE and an individual AUPE member who lives in a long-term same-sex relationship is only an important first step.

"Other laws and regulations still need to be changed to comply with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, some of particular interest to AUPE members," MacLennan said. "In particular, the province now needs to change health regulations to allow family coverage to reflect the Charter as well.

"It’s too bad that we had to go to court to see these common-sense, fair changes made," MacLennan added. "The best course of action would have been for them to change these regulations at a much earlier stage.

"At the same time, the government should be strongly commended for moving on all six pension plans when they made the decision to change the regulations," he said.

"The government can save taxpayers money now by moving in a timely fashion to change other regulations, such as those relating to health care and family benefits," MacLennan added.

"We also have an obligation to thank Robert Lawrence, the very courageous AUPE member whose determination and sense of justice made this change possible," MacLennan said.

"These regulation changes will affect pension plans whose members number more than 100,000 people, and a significant percentage of them will have their lives improved by Robert’s brave action."

The province said in a news release today that it would use the term "pension partner" in pension regulations so that plan benefits could be provided to Albertans living in different types of interdependent relationships – including same-sex relationships.

The government said the new regulations will define an unmarried pension partner as a person who has lived with a participant in the relevant pension plan in a conjugal relationship for at least three years and who during that period was held out by the plan participant to be in such a relationship.

The government also said the amendments are consistent with several Canadian court rulings that say people in committed conjugal relationships must have equal access to benefits.

In addition to the PSPP, the plans affected are the Local Authorities Pension Plan, the Management Employees Pension Plan, the Provincial Court Judges and Masters in Chambers Registered and Unregistered Pension Plans, and the Teachers and Private School Teachers Pension Plan.


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

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