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Bill C-31

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RECOMMENDATION

Her Excellency the Governor General recommends to the House of Commons the appropriation of public revenue under the circumstances, in the manner and for the purposes set out in a measure entitled ``An Act to amend the Pension Act and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act''.

SUMMARY

This enactment amends the Pension Act and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act to recognize, for the purpose of pension benefits under the Pension Act, service as part of a ``special duty operation''. Members of the Canadian Forces and the RCMP serving as part of a special duty operation, or their survivors, will be provided, in the event of the member's disability or death, with the same pension coverage as that currently provided in respect of service in a ``special duty area''.

The existing power of the Governor in Council to designate ``special duty areas'' is transferred to the Minister of National Defence (in the case of the Pension Act) and to the Solicitor General of Canada (in the case of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act). Those respective Ministers are also empowered to designate ``special duty operations'', which are not required to be defined in terms of a specific geographical area.

A designation of a ``special duty area'' or ``special duty operation'' may be made only if the Canadian Forces or RCMP members are deployed into conditions of elevated risk. In all cases, there must be prior consultation with the Minister of Veterans Affairs.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Pension Act

Clause 1: (1) and (2) The definition ``service in a special duty area'' in subsection 3(1) reads as follows:

``service in a special duty area'' means service in an area designated as a special duty area by an order made or continued under section 91.1 in the period during which that designation applies to that area;

(3) New.

Clause 2: (1) to (3) The relevant portion of subsection 21(1) reads as follows:

21. (1) In respect of service rendered during World War I, service rendered during World War II other than in the non-permanent active militia or the reserve army, service as a member of the special force, service in the Korean War, and service in a special duty area as a member of the Canadian Forces,

    . . .

    (c) no deduction shall be made from the degree of actual disability of a member of the forces who has rendered service in a theatre of actual war, service in the Korean War or service in a special duty area on account of a disability or disabling condition that existed in the member before the member's period of service in World War I or World War II, service in the Korean War or service in a special duty area, as the case may be, except

    . . .

    (g) where

      (i) a pension for disability has been awarded to a member of the forces in respect of service in a theatre of actual war, service in the Korean War or service in a special duty area, and

      (ii) the member's degree of actual disability in respect of any of that service subsequently changes,

    the pension shall, regardless of the cause of the change, be increased, decreased or discontinued, as the case requires, to reflect the new degree of actual disability in respect of that service, except that, if a member is receiving a pension in respect of more than one type of service referred to in subparagraph (i), the total pension payable by virtue of this subsection may not exceed the amount of pension for the total actual disability arising from all the service referred to in that subparagraph;

Clause 3: Sections 91.2 to 91.5 are new. Section 91.1 reads as follows:

91.1 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of National Defence, may by order designate as a special duty area any area outside Canada in which a member of the Canadian Forces has served at any time since the beginning of 1949, or is required to serve.

(2) An order made under subsection (1), in respect of each area designated by the order,

    (a) must fix a commencement date, which may be the date of the order or a date earlier or later than the date of the order; and

    (b) may fix a termination date.

(3) The Special Duty Area Pension Order made under National Defence Vote 58a of Schedule B to Appropriation Act No. 10, 1964 continues in force subject to being amended, repealed or replaced under this section.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act

Clause 4: Sections 32.11 to 32.15 are new. Section 32.1 reads as follows:

32.1 (1) An award in accordance with the Pension Act shall be granted to or in respect of a member of the Force who is disabled or dies as a result of an injury or disease or an aggravation thereof that was attributable to or was incurred during service on a peacekeeping mission in a special duty area, as though the service were ``service in a special duty area'' as defined in subsection 3(1) of the Pension Act.

(2) The Governor in Council may, by order,

    (a) designate as a special duty area any geographic area outside Canada where members of the Force serve as part of a peacekeeping mission and may be exposed to hazardous conditions not normally associated with service in peacetime; and

    (b) specify the commencement and termination dates for the period during which service in a special duty area qualifies a member of the Force for an award under subsection (1).

(3) In subsection (1), ``special duty area'' means an area designated as a special duty area by

    (a) an order made under subsection (2); or

    (b) an order made or continued under section 91.1 of the Pension Act.

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