The construction unions cannot find out what happened with the money in their pension fund administered by the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ). They are asking the court on Tuesday for access to explanatory documents. The CCQ pleads that it did nothing illegal.
Five union associations are demanding more transparency from the Commission de la construction du Québec. It was after having documents analyzed by actuarial consultant Pierre Marcotte that the unions became aware of “irregularities”, they say.
“We asked questions without being able to get answers,” says Patrick Bérubé, director general of the Conseil provincial du Québec des métiers de la construction-International (CPQMC-I). “If we were in the private sector and we were not satisfied with the administrator, we would have the opportunity to change him,” he continues. But because we are caught at the CCQ in connection with the R-20 law, we can not do anything. This is why we go to court. »
“We want the money that workers have contributed to their pension plan to be used to finance their retirement,” said Éric Boisjoly, general manager of the FTQ-Construction. With inflation, it is disappointing that retirees cannot have indexed pensions. Is it because it’s mishandled? This is what we will find out if we manage to get more details. »
The five construction trade union associations, four employer associations and the Commission de la construction du Québec will meet this Tuesday at the Superior Court of Quebec to discuss the follow-up to a request filed in 2020 by the unions.
For 30 years, the cost of administering the construction workers’ private insurance plan was paid for with money from their pension plan. This procedure was modified in 2022.
The law provides that the CCQ is the administrator of the employee benefit plans and that it can charge the plans for its administrative expenses, explains Pierre Marcotte, employee benefits advisor at Marcotte Information. “When you look at the annual reports and dissect the financial statements, you see what is charged to the different plans (pension plan and insurance plan), he raises, and the expenses charged to the pension plan turn out to be too high. »
“It’s a trust and you’re not supposed to pay anything other than what’s necessary to administer the trust,” argues Pierre Marcotte.
“The money belongs to the workers, we collect it for the workers, it is supposed to go into the fund of the workers’ pension plan and go out for a pension plan expense, period,” adds Claude Tardif, lawyer at Rivest Schmidt, who is defending the trade unions in this case.
“As provided for in the Civil Code, we want to have details,” continues Pierre Marcotte. We want to have supporting documents to verify that everything paid is justified. We took up so many square feet in the building and it costs so much per square foot? We can’t have that. We are charged 25% from the accounting department, but did we really use 25%? This information is not disclosed. »
Unlike other pension plans, there is no independent committee that manages that of construction workers, explains Pierre Marcotte. It is the C.A. of the CCQ, of which the unions are part, which takes care of it.
The unions are therefore demanding financial information and that the amount charged without right to the pension plan be reimbursed to the pension plan fund. A shortfall estimated at $110 million. The amount of the scheme currently stands at 28 billion.
In its plan of argument filed in court, the CCQ explains that it did nothing illegal. The CCQ is not required to reimburse anything, she says, since she has complied with all applicable laws and rules. The CCQ adds that “this way of doing things is the one that has prevailed for at least 30 years, without any objection from the plaintiffs and other signatory parties to the collective agreements”.
Regarding the request for financial information, the CCQ is of the opinion that “the questions raised by the applicants concerning the administration of the Pension Plan are only a pretext” to obtain “a monetary condemnation against the CCQ in connection with the payment of an administration fee”.
The CCQ did not wish to comment on the case because it is before the courts.
For 30 years, unions, employers and the CCQ were aware of the procedure, which had never been questioned. In 2018, newcomers to the board of directors, Éric Boisjoly, general manager of the FTQ-Construction, and Michel Trépanier, president of the CPQMC-I, wanted to change the procedure and claim that we tried to muzzle them.
In 2021, the CCQ applied to the Superior Court to exclude Éric Boisjoly and Michel Trépanier from the CCQ’s board of directors because of legal proceedings against the CCQ regarding the pension plan.
“As part of these actions, we are attacking the questions of the pension plan in the construction industry, the ways of doing things of the CCQ and its very mission, hence the conflict of interest”, indicates the document filed in court. The eviction request was denied.
