Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
The Secretariat confirms the gap, and says the President has no position on it
Answer 23 Sept In writing.
The answer in full
A letter of 2 September 2026 to the President of the Treasury Board put three questions. Why does subsection 11(4) of the RCMP Superannuation Act let the Treasury Board withhold the employer-funded share of a constable’s pension for misconduct, while the Public Service Superannuation Act, which carried a definition of misconduct until 1999, now carries nothing of the kind. Which of two routes does the President support, extending the rule to the public service or repealing it for the RCMP. And will the fee on the access request for the records behind the 1999 repeal, file A-2026-00378, be waived. The answer came from a sector of the Secretariat, over no name.
The Public Service Superannuation Act (PSSA) no longer contains an equivalent provision. Accordingly, neither the Treasury Board nor the President of the Treasury Board has authority under the PSSA to reduce or withhold a public servant’s pension benefit because the person was dismissed for misconduct. Authority to reduce or withhold such benefits cannot be inferred where the legislation does not provide it.
Pension Policy and Programs, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, 23 September 2026
On the first question the message sends the matter to the Minister of Public Safety. The Financial Administration Act makes the Treasury Board a committee over which the President of the Treasury Board presides; the Public Service Superannuation Act defines “Minister” as the President of the Treasury Board; and the 1999 bill that repealed the definition was a Government bill sponsored by the President of the Treasury Board. On the second question the message states no position. On the third it says the Secretariat’s access office “has responded to you separately on that matter”. That office has written twice, on 2 and 9 September, demanding five dollars each time; neither letter decides the waiver, gives a reason, or names the officer who holds the power.