If your same-sex partner contributed to the Canada Pension Plan and died after April 17, 1985 and before January 1, 1998, you are entitled to claim a CPP Survivor's Pension as a result of the Supreme Court's ruling in the Hislop case.

YOU MUST APPLY BEFORE SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 OR YOU WILL NOT BE ENTITLED TO CLAIM THE FULL AMOUNT OF ARREARS ALLOWED UNDER THE SUPREME COURT OF CANADA'S JUDGEMENT, WITHOUT LEAVE OF THE COURT.

If you miss the deadline, you will still be eligible to receive your CPP Survivor's Pension but you will no longer be eligible for the full amount of back payments awarded by the Supreme Court. If you delay and apply after the Court ordered deadline of September 30, 2008, you will only be eligible for a maximum of 11 months of back payments under the CPP Act. Under the Supreme Court's ruling, qualified applicants are entitled to back payments dating back to at least December 2000, even if they have never applied until now. If you are entitled to this pension and you fail to apply on time, you could lose many years of back payments that are only available under the Supreme Court's ruling.

In order to claim your CPP Survivor's Pension you must fill out a Survivor's Pension application and submit it to Service Canada. All applications are confidential. The amount of money payable to the Class Counsel will not exceed any amount of money paid to you. Class counsel has agreed that there will be no deduction for legal fees from your current monthly pension. You may use your monthly pension to meet your needs for the rest of your life.

To obtain an application or more information, visit www.servicecanada.gc.ca or contact Roy Elliott O'Connor LLP, cpp@reolaw.ca Toll Free 1-866-877-0109. You can also call Egale Canada toll free at 1-888-204-7777.