A court hearing on whether Northern Transportation Co. Ltd. pensioners should be the first recipients of the proceeds of the company’s sale has been delayed.
The hearing, which was expected to take place on Oct. 26, has been postponed to early 2017.
The company, which provides shipping services to communities and exploration projects throughout the Northwest Territories and the western Arctic, was granted protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act in April. It has cited the deficit in its defined benefit pension plan as a major financial concern.
Read: N.W.T company seeking pension relief amid insolvency proceedings
Simon Archer, a lawyer with Koskie Minsky LLP, which is representing more than 600 former and current NTCL pensioners, says the hearing has been delayed because NTCL’s parent company NorTerra decided to appoint its own lawyers rather than those representing NTCL.
The counsel was obtained in early October, according to Archer,”because they may have submissions on the issues to be raised in the hearing.”
Since NorTerra’s counsel isn’t able to prepare in time for the Oct. 26 hearing, new dates were sought out, which is “not an unusual or unexpected step,” said Archer. The new date hasn’t been confirmed.
According to the company’s most recent actuarial valuation in December 2015, the defined benefit pension has a solvency deficit of $18.9 million. Since 2011, the company has regularly made additional contributions to the plan, totalling approximately $14.9 million, in order to eliminate the deficiency.
NTCL wants to terminate the schedule for special pension payments under the distressed workout rules.
Read: U.S. Steel accused of ‘oppressive conduct’ as pension fight heats up