Young v. Canada, (1988) 86 N.R. 166 (FCA)

• Judge: Mahoney, Hugessen and Desjardins, JJ.
• Court: Federal Court of Appeal (Canada)
• Case Date: February 09, 1988
• Jurisdiction: Canada (Federal)
• Citations: (1988), 86 N.R. 166 (FCA)

Young v. Can. (1988), 86 N.R. 166 (FCA)

MLB headnote and full text

Crawford Charles Young (appellant) v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada (respondent)

(No. A-57-86)

Indexed As: Young v. Canada

Federal Court of Appeal

Mahoney, Hugessen and Desjardins, JJ.

February 9, 1988.

Summary:

Young worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) for 21/2 years before becoming a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for 20 years. After his RCMP service he took a job with the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (the Public Service). Young applied for a declaration that he be entitled to buy back the 21/2 years of elective pensionable service resulting from his employment with CPR pursuant to s. 5(1)(b)(iii)(F) of the Public Service Superannuation Act. Section 5(1)(b)(iii)(F) provided that a contributor to the Public Service Superannuation Account could count as pensionable service, elective service comprising of any period of service in pensionable employment immediately prior to becoming employed in the Public Service. The Crown argued that Young's service with the CPR was interrupted by his RCMP service, which was not Public Service, and consequently his CPR service could not be regarded as "immediately prior to becoming employed in the Public Service" within the meaning of s. 5(1)(b)(iii)(F).

The Federal Court of Canada, Trial Division, in a decision reported 1 F.T.R. 294, held that as a member of the RCMP Young was not employed in the Public Service for purposes of the Public Service Superannuation Act and therefore his years at CPR were not served immediately prior to his becoming employed in the public service and could not be counted as pensionable service. Thus the court dismissed Young's application to buy back for pension purposes the years he worked for CPR. Young appealed.

The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal.

Crown - Topic 5266

Officials and employees - Pension benefits - Pensionable service defined - The Public Service Superannuation Act, s. 5(1)(b)(iii)(F), allowed a public service employee to count for pension purposes years of elective pensionable service worked immediately prior to becoming employed in the Public Service - The Federal Court of Appeal affirmed that a man who worked for 20 years as a member of the RCMP was not a member of the Public Service - Therefore, when the man commenced working for the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans after he left the RCMP, he was not entitled to count 21/2 years of elective pensionable service he earned while working with the Canadian Pacific Railway prior to his RCMP service, because it was not service "immediately prior to being employed in the Public Service".

Statutes Noticed:

Public Service Superannuation Act, R.S.C. 1970, c. P-36, sect. 4(1) [para. 3]; sect. 5(1)(b)(iii)(F) [para. 1]; sect. 5(1)(b)(iii)(K), sect. 19(1)(b), sect. 27 [para. 3].

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, R.S.C. 1970, c. R-11, sect. 4(1), sect. 5(b)(ii)(G), sect. 20 [para. 3].

Counsel:

C.C. Young (on his own behalf), for the appellant;

H.A. Newman and Joanne Lee, for the respondent.

Solicitors of Record:

C.C. Young, Delta, British Columbia, for the appellant;

F. Iacobucci, Q.C., Deputy Attorney General of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, for the respondent.

This appeal was heard in Vancouver, British Columbia, on February 9, 1988, before Mahoney, Hugessen and Desjardins, JJ., of the Federal Court of Appeal. The following decision of the Court of Appeal was delivered from the Bench by Mahoney, J., on February 9, 1988.