Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

BENEFIT PLANS

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BENEFIT PLANS
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
BENEFIT PLANS
8. BENEFIT PLANS

We sponsor defined benefit pension plans and defined contribution plans.

On September 14, 2011, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors approved a redesign of our retirement plans for our currently active Canadian employees, effective January 1, 2013, and for our new hires hired on or after October 1, 2011.  The changes to our retirement plan will freeze the Canadian Retirement Income Plan, or CRIP, a qualified defined benefit pension plan, for employees who do not meet retirement-eligibility status under the CRIP as of December 31, 2012 (“Non-Grandfathered” participants).  Under the plan amendments, the service credit for Non-Grandfathered participants will freeze, but these participants will continue to receive credit for salary increases and vesting service.  Additionally, Non-Grandfathered employees and certain other employees not eligible to participate in the CRIP (i.e., new hires on or after October 1, 2011) will be able to participate in an enhanced defined contribution component of the CRIP.

We assessed the plan amendment’s potential impact to our Consolidated Financial Statements in accordance with ASC 715 as of September 14, 2011.  Factors considered during our assessment included the materiality of the CRIP’s assets and liabilities, the CRIP’s funded status and discussion with the plan’s actuaries regarding the range of possible fluctuation in valuation inputs from December 31, 2010 to September 14, 2011.  Based on our assessment, we determined that a remeasurement was not necessary as the effect of the plan amendments was immaterial.
 
For additional information about our benefit plans, see Note 10 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in our 2010 Form 10-K.

The following table provides the components of net periodic benefit cost for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010:

   
Pension Benefits
    
Other Benefits
  
   
Three Months Ended September 30,
  
   
2011
    
2010
    
2011
    
2010
  
   
(In millions)
  
Service cost
   $ 1.6     $ 1.8     $ 0.1     $ 0.1  
Interest cost
     8.6       8.7       0.4       0.4  
Expected return on plan assets
     (11.6 )     (11.1 )     (0.4 )     (0.3 )
Amortization of prior service cost
     0.2       0.2       -       (0.1 )
Recognized actuarial loss
     3.0       2.3       0.3       0.3  
Total net periodic benefit cost
   $ 1.8     $ 1.9     $ 0.4     $ 0.4  
                                 
   
Pension Benefits
    
Other Benefits
  
   
Nine Months Ended September 30,
  
   
2011
    
2010
    
2011
    
2010
  
   
(In millions)
  
Service cost
   $ 4.8     $ 4.7     $ 0.4     $ 0.3  
Interest cost
     25.8       26.1       1.2       1.3  
Expected return on plan assets
     (34.9 )     (33.3 )     (1.2 )     (1.1 )
Amortization of prior service cost
     0.6       0.6       (0.1 )     (0.2 )
Recognized actuarial loss
     9.0       6.8       0.9       0.9  
Total net periodic benefit cost
   $ 5.3     $ 4.9     $ 1.2     $ 1.2