16.EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

Retirement Savings Plans: Waste Connections and certain of its subsidiaries have voluntary retirement savings plans in Canada (the “RSPs”). RSPs are available to all eligible Canadian employees of Waste Connections and its subsidiaries. For eligible Canadian employees, Waste Connections and its subsidiaries make a contribution to a deferred profit sharing plan of 3% of the employee’s eligible compensation, subject to certain limitations imposed by the Canadian Income Tax Act.

Certain of Waste Connections’ subsidiaries also have voluntary savings and investment plans in the U.S. (the “401(k) Plans”). The 401(k) Plans are available to all eligible U.S. employees of Waste Connections and its subsidiaries. Waste Connections and its subsidiaries make matching contributions under the 401(k) Plans of 50% to 100% of every dollar of a participating employee’s pre-tax contributions until the employee’s contributions equal from 3% to 6% of the employee’s eligible compensation, subject to certain limitations imposed by the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

Total employer expenses, including employer contributions and employer matching contributions, for the RSPs and 401(k) Plans were $10,420, $4,702 and $4,765, respectively, during the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014. These amounts include matching contributions Waste Connections made under the Deferred Compensation Plan, described below.

Multiemployer Pension Plans: The Company also participates in six “multiemployer” pension plans. The Company does not administer these multiemployer plans. In general, these plans are managed by the trustees, with the unions appointing certain trustees, and other contributing employers of the plan appointing certain others. The Company is generally not represented on the board of trustees. The Company makes periodic contributions to these plans pursuant to its collective bargaining agreements. The Company’s participation in multiemployer pension plans is summarized as follows:


	EIN/Pension Plan	Pension Protection Act Zone Status _(a)			Company Contributions						Expiration Date of
Plan Name	Number/ Registration Number	2016	2015	FIP/RP Status (a),(b)		2016		2015		2014	Collective Bargaining Agreement
Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust	91-6145047 - 001	Green	Green	Not applicable	$	3,420	$	4,314	$	3,852	6/30/16 to 12/31/19
Locals 302 & 612 of the IOUE - Employers Construction Industry Retirement Plan	91-6028571 - 001	Green	Green	Not applicable		252		242		226	9/30/19
International Union of Operating Engineers Pension Trust	85512-1	Green	Not applicable	Not applicable		120		-		-	3/31/2017 to 3/31/2021
Multi-Sector Pension Plan	1085653	Green	Not applicable	Not applicable		112		-		-	3/31/2016
Local 813 Pension Trust Fund	13-1975659 - 001	Critical	Not applicable	Implemented		86		-		-	11/30/2019
Midwest Operating Engineers Pension Plan	36 - 6140097 - 001	Yellow	Yellow	Implemented		11		-		-	10/31/2020
					$	4,001	$	4,556	$	4,078

______________________

(a)

The most recent Pension Protection Act zone status available in 2016 and 2015 is for the plans’ years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

(b)

The “FIP/RP Status” column indicates plans for which a Funding Improvement Plan (“FIP”) or a Rehabilitation Plan (“RP”) has been implemented.

(c)

A multiemployer defined benefit pension plan that has been certified as endangered, seriously endangered or critical may begin to levy a statutory surcharge on contribution rates. Once authorized, the surcharge is at the rate of 5% for the first 12 months and 10% for any periods thereafter, until certain conditions are met. The Company was not required to pay a surcharge to these plans during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015.

The status is based on information that the Company received from the pension plans and is certified by the pension plans’ actuary. Plans with “green” status are at least 80% funded. The Company’s contributions to each individual multiemployer pension plan represent less than 5% of total contributions to such plan. Under current law regarding multiemployer benefit plans, a plan’s termination, the Company’s voluntary withdrawal, or the withdrawal of all contributing employers from any under-funded multiemployer pension plan would require the Company to make payments to the plan for its proportionate share of the multiemployer plan’s unfunded vested liabilities. The Company could have adjustments to its estimates for these matters in the near term that could have a material effect on its consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Deferred Compensation Plan: Effective for compensation paid on and after July 1, 2004, Old Waste Connections established a Deferred Compensation Plan for eligible employees, which was amended and restated effective January 1, 2008, January 1, 2010, September 22, 2011 and December 1, 2014, and as further amended on July 6, 2016 (as amended to date, the “Deferred Compensation Plan”). The Deferred Compensation Plan was assumed by the Company on June 1, 2016. The Deferred Compensation Plan is a non-qualified deferred compensation program under which the eligible participants, including officers and certain employees who meet a minimum salary threshold, may voluntarily elect to defer up to 80% of their base salaries and up to 100% of their bonuses, commissions and restricted share unit grants. Effective as of December 1, 2014, Old Waste Connections’ Board of Directors determined to discontinue the option to allow eligible participants to defer restricted share unit grants pursuant to the Deferred Compensation Plan. Members of the Company’s Board of Directors are eligible to participate in the Deferred Compensation Plan with respect to their director fees. Although the Company periodically contributes the amount of its obligation under the plan to a trust for the benefit of the participants, the amounts of any compensation deferred under the Deferred Compensation Plan constitute an unsecured obligation of the Company to pay the participants in the future and, as such, are subject to the claims of other creditors in the event of insolvency proceedings. Participants may elect certain future distribution dates on which all or a portion of their accounts will be paid to them, including in the case of a change in control of the Company. Their accounts will be distributed to them in cash, except for amounts credited with respect to deferred restricted share unit grants, which will be distributed in the Company’s common shares pursuant to the 2014 Plan or the 2004 Plan. In addition to the amount of participants’ contributions, the Company will pay participants an amount reflecting a deemed return based on the returns of various mutual funds or measurement funds selected by the participants, except in the case of restricted share units that were deferred, which will be credited to their accounts as Company common shares. The measurement funds are used only to determine the amount of return the Company pays to participants and participant funds are not actually invested in the measurement fund, nor are any Company common shares acquired under the Deferred Compensation Plan. During each of the three years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the Company also made matching contributions to the Deferred Compensation Plan of 50% of every dollar of a participating employee’s pre-tax eligible contributions until the employee’s contributions equaled 6% of the employee’s eligible compensation, less the amount of any match the Company made on behalf of the employee under the Waste Connections 401(k) Plan, and subject to certain deferral limitations imposed by the U.S. Internal Revenue Code on 401(k) plans, except that the Company’s matching contributions under the Deferred Compensation Plan were 100% vested when made. The Company’s total liability for deferred compensation at December 31, 2016 and 2015 was $21,051 and $19,387, respectively, which was recorded in Other long-term liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.