Ontario Appoints Third-Party Advisor to Lead Review of OMERS

Robert Poirier to undertake pension plan governance review

December 03, 2024

TORONTO — Ontario has appointed a third-party advisor to undertake a governance review of the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (OMERS), the first review since 2012, to ensure that its governance model is serving the interests of plan members in a fair, equitable, and transparent manner that supports the plan’s long-term financial sustainability.

Former Metrolinx board member and former chair of the Toronto Port Authority Robert Poirier will oversee the review. As third-party advisor, he will offer recommendations to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to help deliver the best pension plan possible for plan members.

“We are committed to strengthening OMERS governance to ensure that it works in the best interests of its members,” said Paul Calandra, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “This review will ensure important decisions that impact members continue to be made in a transparent way.”

The review will look at various aspects of the OMERS Sponsors Corporation and the OMERS Administration Corporation, such as board representation and the effective delivery of their mandates. This includes how plan assets are managed and how investment decisions are made by the Administration Corporation. It will also look at best practices in pension governance that could potentially be implemented by OMERS.

The review will not focus on any financial details or decisions regarding contribution rates, fairness of plan benefits, or the supplemental plan.

Quick Facts

OMERS is one of the largest defined benefit pension plans in Canada with more than 1,000 participating employers and more than 600,000 active, deferred, and retired employees of municipalities, local agencies, public utilities, firefighters, police, paramedic, and non-teaching school board staff across the province.
In 2006, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System Act, 2006 came into effect, transferring sponsor responsibilities such as making changes to the OMERS pension plan from the Province of Ontario to the OMERS Sponsors Corporation.
In 2012, the government appointed a third-party advisor to conduct a governance review in line with requirements set out in the OMERS Review Act, 2006. The advisor identified areas where OMERS governance should be improved at that time.

Ontario Appoints Third-Party Advisor to Lead Review of OMERS

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