(a) Steps the Government has taken since February 1999:
At the six countries social security meeting held in New Zealand in March 1999, the deputy minister of Human Resouces Development expressed Canada's serious concern about the issue of frozen British pensions to the permanent secretary of the United Kingdom department of social security.
In October 1999 and again in March 2000, the Minister of Foreign Affairs re-iterated Canada's position on the issue of frozen British pensions at meetings with the British minister responsible for North American and Caribbean relations.
On at least five occasions during 1998-1999, at meetings of the International Social Security Association, senior officials of Human Resources Development Canada re-emphasized the need to resolve the issue of frozen British pensions in discussions with the head of International and European Union relations of the United Kingdom department of social security.
(b) Status of challenge before the European Court of Human Rights:
Officials of Human Resources Development, with the assistance of the Department of Justice, have given extensive study to a possible legal challenge to the British legislation on frozen pensions before the European Court of Human Rights. There are complex legal issues involved and Canada has no precedents for such an action. A decision is expected soon.