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A loophole currently exists in Canadian legislation which allows a spousal killer to receive spousal survivor benefits under the Canadian Pension Plan or Old Age Security. The CBC recently reported on a private member’s bill introduced by MP Dave Van Kesteren aimed at stopping this inequity.
A similar private member’s bill was introduced three years ago but was never passed (private member’s bills rarely are). While this new bill is a step in the right direction, it is argued that the bill does not go far enough as it only covers first and second degree murder, not manslaughter.
Currently, in some situations, individuals convicted of murdering their spouses have collected these benefits for over 25 years after their crimes.
