Employee Pension Plans

9 Months Ended

12 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2013

Apr. 30, 2012

Employee Pension Plans

12. Employee pension plans:

The net defined benefit pension plan expense is as follows:

	Nine months ended
	January 31, 2013			January 31, 2012
Current service cost	$	14,433		$	14,015
Interest cost		23,636			27,195
Expected return on plan assets		(31,083	)		(26,009	)
Amortization of net actuarial and experience losses		766			408
Amortization of past service credits		(279	)		—
Employee contributions		(2,196	)		(2,293	)
	$	5,277		$	13,316

20. Employee pension plans:

(a) Defined contribution pension plans:

The following table summarizes contributions to defined contribution plans:

	For the year ended
	April 30, 2012		April 30, 2011		April 30, 2010
Company contributions	$	14,197	$	13,859	$	11,512

(b) Defined benefit pension plans:

The Company has funded and unfunded and flat-benefit and final-pay defined benefit pension plans in Canada, the UK, Norway and the Netherlands for approximately 30% of the Company’s active employees. Funded plans require the Company to make cash contributions to ensure there will be sufficient assets to discharge the plans’ benefit obligations as they become due. Unfunded plans do not require contributions to be paid into the plans as the Company pays the benefit obligations directly as they are due. Employer contributions expected to be paid to the defined benefit pension plans during the fiscal year ended April 30, 2013, required by funding regulations and law, are $41.3 million.

The plan assets and accrued benefit obligation are measured at fair value as at April 30, 2012. Actuarial valuations are obtained by the Company at least every three years. The most recent actuarial valuations of the defined benefit pension plans were conducted as at April 30, 2012 and the next actuarial valuations are required as at April 30, 2015.

At April 30, 2012, in accordance with changes to applicable United Kingdom statutes, pensions in deferment will be revalued annually based on the Consumer Prices Index, as opposed to the Retail Prices Index which was previously used. The impact on the projected benefit obligation was a gain that was recorded in accumulated other comprehensive earnings (loss) of $14.8 million and is included in the prior service cost.

In 2010, the Norwegian Parliament enacted a new multi-employer early retirement plan for the private sector in Norway, which was effective January 1, 2011. As a result of this legislation, the Company was partially released from its obligation under the Company’s prior early retirement plan (a single-employer defined benefit plan) and the Company recorded a curtailment gain of $1.2 million. The Company recognizes the contributions made to the new multi-employer plan as net pension expense, which includes both cash and the fair market value of non-cash contributions, and recognizes a liability for any unpaid contributions.

(b) Defined benefit pension plans (continued):

On September 1, 2009, the UK defined benefit plan was curtailed resulting in an elimination of the right of all members of the plan to earn defined benefits for future services. A curtailment loss of $3.7 million was recognized in net earnings (loss).

For the UK defined benefit pension plan the investment policy requires that the plan assets held be invested as follows:

Category	Maximum percentage
UK equities	22% to 28%
Overseas equities	22% to 28%
Bonds	24% to 45%
Property	4% to 18%
Multi-strategy fund	2% to 18%

The investment policy requires that the assets held in the Norwegian plans are to be diversified as shown below. The total equities, emerging markets bonds, high yield bonds, hedge funds and private equity funds can be a maximum 60% of total assets.

Category	Maximum percentage
Norwegian equities		15	%
International equities		35	%
Total equities		35	%
Structured products		10	%
High yield bonds		25	%
Emerging markets bonds		0	%
Government bonds		70	%
Total bonds		100	%
Money market		100	%
Property funds		15	%
Hedge funds		0	%
Private equity funds		10	%

For the assets held in the plan in the Netherlands, 80% must be invested in fixed rate investments and the remaining 20% invested in shares with a maximum deviation of 5% upwards or downwards. The total of equities, high yield bonds, emerging markets bonds, hedge funds and private equity funds can be a maximum of 60% of total assets.

While the asset mix varies in each plan, overall the asset mix, as a percentage of total market value, of all the defined benefit plans at April 30, 2012 was 21% (2011 – 21%) equities, 58% (2011 – 45%) fixed income and 21% (2011 – 34%) money market.

For all defined benefit pension plans the overall expected long-term rates of return on plan assets have been determined in part by assessing current and expected asset allocations as well as historical and expected returns on various categories of the assets. Such expected rates of return ignore short-term fluctuations. For the UK plan it is expected that the rate of return on the plan assets will be between approximately 5.4% in excess of price inflation for equities, 5.1% in excess of price inflation for property and 1.4% in excess of inflation for bonds. For the plans in Norway and the Netherlands, the expected long-term rate of return is considered in reference to the longest stated bond rates in each country.

	2012			2011
Change in benefit obligations:
Benefit obligations, beginning of year	$	726,908		$	700,822
Current service costs		17,573			20,028
Plan curtailment and settlement		—			(9,263	)
Interest cost		35,344			33,842
Plan amendments		(14,766	)		1,675
Actuarial loss (gain)		41,719			(63,469	)
Benefits paid		(27,526	)		(24,550	)
Foreign currency translation		(44,190	)		67,823
Benefit obligations, end of year	$	735,062		$	726,908
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets, beginning of year	$	638,357		$	536,541
Actual gain on plan assets		30,205			35,316
Employer contributions		43,372			29,745
Employee contributions		2,911			—
Benefits paid		(25,983	)		(20,740	)
Plan curtailment and settlement		—			(4,698	)
Foreign currency translation		(42,050	)		62,193
Fair value of plan assets, end of year	$	646,812		$	638,357

	2012			2011
Accumulated benefit obligation	$	702,696		$	669,329
Projected benefit obligation	$	735,062		$	726,908
Fair value of plan assets		646,812			638,357
Funded status		88,250			88,551
Pension guarantee assets		(4,974	)		(5,406	)
Net recognized pension liability	$	83,276		$	83,145
Net recognized pension liability:
Non-current asset - pension guarantee assets (note 13)	$	4,974		$	5,406
Non-current asset (note 13)		19,449			15,326
Non-current liability (note 14)		(107,699	)		(103,877	)

	2012			2011
Amounts recorded in accumulated other comprehensive (earnings) loss:
Unrecognized net actuarial and experience losses	$	62,004		$	15,432
Unrecognized prior service costs (credits)		(12,980	)		1,762
	$	49,024		$	17,194

The significant weighted average actuarial assumptions adopted in measuring the defined benefit pension plan obligations and net benefit plan expense as at April 30, 2012 and 2011 are as follows:

	2012			2011
Discount rate		4.40	%		5.35	%
Rate of compensation increase		2.31	%		2.22	%
Discount rate for pension expense		4.98	%		4.97	%
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets		5.60	%		6.11	%

The net defined benefit pension plan expense is as follows:

	For the year ended
	April 30, 2012			April 30, 2011			April 30, 2010
Current service cost	$	17,573		$	20,028		$	19,080
Interest cost		35,344			33,842			32,841
Curtailment and settlement loss (gain)		—			(1,757	)		3,684
Expected return on plan assets		(34,691	)		(30,258	)		(30,107	)
Amortization of net actuarial and experience losses		507			1,703			58
Amortization of past service costs (credits)		(249	)		89			—
Employee contributions		(2,911	)		(1,681	)		(3,024	)
	$	15,573		$	21,966		$	22,532

(b) Defined benefit pension plans (continued):

The components of other comprehensive loss (earnings) relating to the plans consists of the following:

	For the year ended
	April 30, 2012			April 30, 2011			April 30, 2010
Other comprehensive loss (earnings):
Net loss (gain)	$	46,452		$	(71,937	)	$	55,255
Net prior service cost (credit)		(14,766	)		1,675			—
Amortization of net actuarial loss (gain), past service costs and transition amounts		(258	)		(1,792	)		(58	)
Settlements and curtailments		—			(554	)		—
Foreign exchange translation		402			576			1,535
	$	31,830		$	(72,032	)	$	56,732

As at April 30, 2012, the estimated amount that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive loss into net period benefit cost is $2.9 million.

(c) Pension plan assets and fair value measurement:

	April 30, 2012
	Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1)		Significant other observable inputs (Level 2)		Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3)		Total plan assets
Assets:
Cash equivalents and other short-term investments	$	27,339	$	—	$	—	$	27,339
Equity investments		134,207		—		—		134,207
Fixed income		372,082		—		—		372,082
Money market and other		81,470		—		31,714		113,184
	$	615,098	$	—	$	31,714	$	646,812

(c) Pension plan assets and fair value measurement (continued):

	April 30, 2011
	Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1)		Significant other observable inputs (Level 2)		Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3)		Total plan assets
Assets:
Cash equivalents and other short-term investments	$	22,008	$	—	$	—	$	22,008
Equity investments		141,071		—		—		141,071
Fixed income		438,836		—		—		438,836
Money market and other		8,654		—		27,788		36,442
	$	610,569	$	—	$	27,788	$	638,357

The methods and assumptions used to estimate the fair value of the pension assets in level 1 are based on publicly available quoted market prices. The level 3 assets are valued using third party appraisals and changes in the level 3 assets are as follows:

	2012			2011
Opening	$	27,788		$	21,282
Actual return on assets		3,037			2,143
Purchases, sales and settlements, net		3,054			4,419
Foreign currency translation		(2,165	)		(56	)
	$	31,714		$	27,788

(d) Benefit Payments:

As at April 30, 2012, benefits expected to be paid under the defined benefit pension plans in each of the next five fiscal years and in aggregate for the fiscal years thereafter, are as follows:

	Pension benefits
2013	$	29,472
2014		31,112
2015		32,618
2016		34,471
2017		36,315
Thereafter		201,722
	$	365,710