Murray Gold

Murray Gold is a senior pension and benefits partner (see: Chambers Canada and Chambers Global 2017 Rankings) with a national pension and benefits practice. He is a leading practitioner in the area of pensions and employee benefits. He currently serves as one of three members of Pension Asset Expert Advisory Panel that is examining public sector pension accounting issues. In 2014, he was appointed by the Premier of Ontario to Ontario’s Technical Advisory Group on Retirement Security in February 2014 and then served as an initial Director of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan in 2015-16.. In 2008 he served as an expert advisor to the Ontario Expert Commission on Pensions.

Mr. Gold advises governing boards of public sector and jointly trusteed pension and benefits plans across Canada in regard to compliance and best-practice issues. He represents pension boards, as well as plan sponsors, retiree groups and active members in pension litigation in pension regulatory and judicial proceedings.

Mr. Gold is lead counsel for Koskie Minsky in regard to current pension reform initiatives in Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Ontario and Alberta, and in health benefit plan reforms in Ontario and British Columbia. He represented stakeholder interests in insolvency proceedings involving Air Canada in 2003 and 2009, and Stelco in 2005. In 2009 – 2010, he lead Koskie Minsky’s team in establishing Canada’s first funded postretirement health care trust in the auto sector. This involved the creation of new tax laws governing the tax treatment of postretirement benefit trusts and the negotiation and implementation of arrangements to govern Canada’s first funded employee life health trust.

Murray Gold is a Fellow of the Ontario Teachers’ Federation, an honor in recognition of his work in regard to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

Murray served on the Firm’s Executive Committee and then as the Firm’s Managing Partner from 2012-2016.

EXPERIENCE

• Pension Commission hearing on behalf of a group of retirees resulting in partial wind-up order of the McDonnell Douglas Canadian Pension Plan for Salaried Employees; Gary Maynard and Superintendent of Pensions
• Advising pension plan trustees and stakeholders about regulatory and fiduciary issues
• Stelco Insolvency and Restructuring
• Auto Sector Restructuring – Establishment of Employee Life Health Trusts
• Shareholders of Nortel, led by the OPTrust, settled a securities class action against Nortel
• Red Cross insolvency and negotiation of successor pension arrangements with Canadian Blood Services
• Air Canada Insolvency and Restructuring

EDUCATION

LL.B., 1984, University of Toronto

A.B., 1981, Harvard University

MEMBERSHIPS / AFFILIATIONS

Fellow, Ontario Teachers’ Federation

Member and Former Chair, Ontario Bar Association Pension and Benefits Section

Member and Former Chair, Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute

MURRAY'S PUBLICATIONS

• Climate Change and the Fiduciary Duties of Pension Fund Trustees in Canada
• Pension Reform: Current Issues April 2011