2007 Annual Report

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Schedule 1 – Report of the Joint Committee

Overview and Summary

The 1986-1990 Hepatitis C Fund (the “Trust Fund”) completed its seventh year of operation on December 31, 2006 (“Year 7”). ¹

¹ As a result of the change in year-end from March 31 to December 31, Year 7 is a nine-month year.

In Year 7, the Centre received 668 new claims as follows:

131	-	Primary Infected Transfused
7	-	Primary Infected Hemophiliac
4	-	Secondarily Infected
64	-	HCV Personal Representative Claims where deceased died on or after January 1, 1999
13	-	HCV Personal Representative Claims where deceased died before January 1, 1999
449	-	Family Member/dependent claims

The Centre paid out approximately $30 million to all claimants (prior and new) in Year 7. Since its inception, the Centre has paid out a total of approximately $507 million in benefits in response to approximately 10,902 claims. There are a further 761 claims which are in process awaiting the submission of further information by the claimants or the completion of a traceback search, or both.

The Investment Summary of Eckler Ltd. ² attached at Schedule G indicates a value of $928 million held by the Trustee as at December 31, 2006. The total unpaid liability of the provincial governments is approximately $217 million for a total available to satisfy the claims of class members of approximately $1.145 billion.

² Eckler Ltd. is the new name of Eckler Partners Ltd. effective January 1, 2007. Accordingly, documents originating from Eckler Ltd. that precede January 1, 2007 bear the name “Eckler Partners Ltd.” and documents subsequent to this date bear the new name. All references to Eckler Ltd. in this Annual Report, also refer to Eckler Partners Ltd. where appropriate.
In Year 7, pursuant to Court Order, $27,531.31 of interest earned on the Trust Fund account during the first six months of Year 7, was transferred by RBC Dexia to TD Asset Management Inc. for investment by TD Asset Management Inc. In addition, the amount of $12,395.31, representing interest earned on the Trust Fund account during the last quarter of Year 6, was transferred by RBC Dexia to TD Asset Management Inc. in Year 7.

The following chart summarizes the budget versus actual expenses for the service providers in the past year ended December 31, 2006.

Service Provider	Budget to December 31, 2006	Actual	Variance from Budget	Note
Auditor [Audit Only] Deloitte & Touche	64,000	70,200	6,200
Auditor [Financial Statements] Deloitte & Touche	10,000	10,000	0
Auditor [Administrator Cost Review] Deloitte & Touche	13,500	0	0	Not requested by Joint Committee.
Auditor [Special Projects] Deloitte & Touche	5,000	2,200	(2,800)	See paragraph 38(ii) below for a description of the Special Project performed.
Trustee RBC Dexia Investor Services Trust (RBC Dexia)	78,750	70,000	(8,750)	No monies beyond actual expenses have been paid.
Investment Manager TD Asset Management Inc.	150,000	142,666.43	(7,333.57)	No monies beyond actual expenses have been paid.
Actuarial Services & Investment Review Eckler Ltd.	42,750	72,999	30,249	See paragraphs 53 to 59 for a description of the over budget.
Canadian Blood Services	31,482	36,468.40	4,986.40	See paragraphs 70 to 73 for a description of the over budget.
PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP	15,000	12,778.91	(2,221.09)	No monies beyond actual expenses have been paid.
LECG	45,000	12,453.75	(32,546.25)	No monies beyond actual expenses have been paid.
Héma-Québec	7,933.04	10,070.52	2,137.48	To be applied against previous overpayment and subject to approval of the Superior Court of Quebec. See paragraph 77 below.
Joint Committee [regular fees & disbursements]	610,000	468,794	(141,206)	No monies beyond actual expenses have been paid.
Joint Committee [fees & disbursements related to the 2005 sufficiency review]	360,000	79,460	(280,540)	No monies beyond actual expenses have been paid.

The total net underbudget of all service providers combined is $431,824.03.

The chart below summarizes the proposed budgets for service providers in Year 8.

Service Provider	Proposed Budget to December 31, 2007 (excluding GST)	Proposed Monthly Charges (excluding GST)
Auditor [Audit Only] Deloitte & Touche	67,200	5,600
Auditor [Financial Statements] Deloitte & Touche	10,000
Auditor [Special Projects] Deloitte & Touche	5,000
Trustee RBC Dexia	100,000	up to 8,333
Investment Manager TD Asset Management Inc.	180,000	up to 15,000
Actuarial Services & Investment Review Eckler Ltd.	60,000	5,000
Canadian Blood Services	41,972	3,497.66
PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP	Max. 20,000	As invoiced
Navigant	Max. 20,000	As invoiced
Héma-Québec	8,035.39	Payments will be subject to court order.
Joint Committee Fees	750,000	Payments will be subject to court order.

Fund Counsel incurred fees in the nine months ending December 31, 2006 of approximately $291,220 (exclusive of taxes and disbursements). No amounts are paid to Fund Counsel without a specific court order.
The Joint Committee had a budget of $610,000 in respect of regular fees and disbursements and $360,000 in respect of sufficiency-related fees and disbursements in Year 7. Total Joint Committee fees incurred in the 9 months ending December 31, 2006 (exclusive of taxes and disbursements) were approximately $516,588.44. A detailed breakdown of the global Joint Committee fees for Year 7 is provided at paragraph 91 below. No amounts are paid to the Joint Committee without a specific court order.
As discussed in the Year 6 Annual Report, the Joint Committee has negotiated contractual arrangements with Crawford for the period from April 1, 2006 through December 31, 2007. Those terms and the extension of Crawford’s contract to December 31, 2007 have been submitted to the Courts for approval.

General

This is the seventh annual report of the Joint Committee to the Supreme Court of British Columbia, the Superior Court of Justice for Ontario, and the Superior Court of Quebec (collectively the “Courts”) on the status of the Trust Fund and the administration of the Hemophiliac HCV Plan and Transfused HCV Plan (collectively the “Plans”).
The Joint Committee is comprised of Harvey Strosberg, J.J. Camp, Bonnie Tough and Michel Savonitto. Harvey Strosberg was appointed by Order of the Superior Court of Justice for Ontario. J.J. Camp was appointed by Order of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, and Michel Savonitto was appointed by the Order of the Superior Court of Quebec. Bonnie Tough was appointed by Order of each of the Superior Court of Justice for Ontario, the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the Superior Court of Quebec. This Report is prepared by and on behalf of all members of the Joint Committee.
In accordance with the Orders of the Courts declaring that Year 7 be the first fiscal year of the Trust Fund to end on December 31, and directing all future fiscal years of the Trust Fund to similarly end on December 31, Year 7, which began on April 1, 2006 and ended on December 31, 2006, was a short fiscal year of nine months. All future years will coincide with the calendar year and will run from January 1 to December 31 for a period of twelve months.
In the period commencing April 1, 2006 and ending December 31, 2006, approximately $28 million was paid to claimants. Since the inception of the Plans, a total of approximately $508 million has been paid to claimants.
The budget and expenses of each of the service providers are discussed in detail below.
At first glance, the Proposed Budgets to December 31, 2007 for most service providers appear greater than the Proposed Budgets for Year 7. However, it is to be remembered that Year 7 was a short fiscal year of nine months, whereas Year 8 is a full twelve-month year. Thus, rather than comparing Proposed Budgets, it is more accurate to compare the Proposed Monthly Charges for Year 8 to those of Year 7. This comparison reveals that the budgets of service providers in Year 8 are similar to or lower than those in Year 7.
The Joint Committee recommends that the budgets of the service providers include payment through to April 1, 2008 in order to provide for a reasonable period of time from December 31, 2007 until April 1, 2008 for the audit and accounting review of the expenses in preparation for a report to the Courts in April 2008.

2005 Sufficiency Review

The 2005 Sufficiency Review assessing the financial sufficiency of the Trust Fund as at December 31, 2004 was completed in Year 7.
The 2005 Sufficiency Review involved actuarial work performed by Eckler Ltd. and medical modeling work performed by Dr. Murray Krahn. The work of Eckler Ltd. and Dr. Krahn spanned the period from Year 5 (April 1, 2004 to March 31, 2005), through to Year 7 (April 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006).
The 2005 Sufficiency Review was initially expected to entail oral hearings requiring the attendance of the Joint Committee and potentially, the attendance of expert actuarial and medical modeling witnesses. Ultimately through discussion, it was decided that no oral hearing would be required, and that the 2005 Sufficiency Review would take place through written submissions.
The budgets of Eckler Ltd., Dr. Krahn and the Joint Committee for the 2005 Sufficiency Review, were established on the assumption that an oral hearing would be required. Because the 2005 Sufficiency Review proceeded by written submissions, substantial savings were achieved, particularly in respect of Dr. Krahn, who was significantly under budget.
A detailed breakdown of the work performed and the fees and disbursements incurred by Eckler Ltd. in respect of the 2005 Sufficiency Review, is provided in paragraphs 24 to 30 below.
A detailed breakdown of the work performed and the fees and disbursements incurred Dr. Krahn in respect of the 2005 Sufficiency Review, is provided in paragraphs 31 to 36 below.

Eckler Ltd. and the 2005 Sufficiency Review

The Courts approved a budget of Eckler Ltd. for work necessary for the 2005 Sufficiency Review, to a maximum of $420,000, which amount was exclusive of taxes.
The Order of the Courts also provided that each invoice of Eckler Ltd. in respect of its work for the 2005 Sufficiency Review, be specifically approved by the Joint Committee.

Between Years 5 and 7, the Joint Committee approved seven invoices from Eckler Ltd. for its actuarial work on the 2005 Sufficiency Review. The chart below details these seven sufficiency-related invoices and reconciles the credits applied to Eckler’s sufficiency-related work between Years 5 and 7. ³

ECKLER LTD. SUFFICIENCY INVOICES
Invoice Number	Invoice Date	Year	Amount (excluding credit balances)
4301	December 21, 2004	Year 5	29,262
4311	March 3, 2005	Year 5	66,802
4357	April 25, 2005	Year 6	25,225
4349	June 1, 2005	Year 6	255,526
4363	July 7, 2005	Year 6	41,374
4486-1	April 13, 2006	Year 6	90,169
4590-1	February 2, 2007	Year 7	40,745
TOTAL SUFFICIENCY CHARGES: 549,103

³ These invoices are attached as Schedule I.

CREDITS APPLIED TO SUFFICIENCY CHARGES
Date	Year	Type of Credit	Amount of Credit	Reconciliation Applying Credit Balances to Sufficiency Charges
April 25, 2005	Year 6	Credit Balance from Year 5 Retainer Payments	38,076	549,103 - 38,076
February 2, 2007	Year 7	Credit Balance from Year 6 Retainer Payments	10,496	= 511,027 - 10,496
January 2007	Year 8	Reimbursement from Federal Government	64,318	= 500,531 - 64,318
TOTAL SUFFICIENCY CHARGES AFTER APPLICATION OF CREDITS: 436,213

The total amount of the invoices was $549,103. Of this total, $64,318 was incurred at the behest of the Federal Government in Year 6. In Year 8, the Federal Government reimbursed the Trust Fund the amount of $64,318 in respect of Eckler Ltd.
Excluding the fees of Eckler Ltd. that were incurred at the behest of the Federal Government, the total amount of fees incurred by Eckler Ltd. for its sufficiency-related work in Years 5 through 7, was $484,785. Of this amount, $48,572 was satisfied by credit balances and retainer fees that were paid to Eckler Ltd. on account of Eckler Ltd. being under budget on its regular ongoing actuarial work. As a result of the application of these credits and retainer amounts, the remaining amount owing for the sufficiency work of Eckler Ltd. was $436,213.
Eckler Ltd. was over its budget of $420,000 budget for its work on the 2005 Sufficiency Review. This over budget was due mainly to the actuarial work required to review and respond to the two actuarial reports submitted by the Federal Government.
The Joint Committee recommends approval of the 2005 Sufficiency Review payment to Eckler Ltd.

Medical Modeling for the 2005 sufficiency review

The Courts approved a budget of Dr. Murray Krahn, for work necessary for the 2005 Sufficiency Review, to a maximum of $200,000.
The Order of the Courts also provided that each invoice of Dr. Krahn in respect of his work for the 2005 Sufficiency Review, be specifically approved by the Joint Committee.
The Joint Committee approved four invoices from Dr. Krahn in respect of his medical modeling work for the 2005 sufficiency review. The invoices of Dr. Krahn for all of the medical modeling work performed in respect of the 2005 sufficiency review totalled $48,930.96, inclusive of taxes. The cost of Dr. Krahn’s medical modeling work was well below the budget approved by the Courts.
The majority of the fees for the medical modeling work were incurred in Year 5, the year in which the bulk of the medical modeling report was completed. The fees incurred in Year 5 totalled $29,588.16, including an invoice of $11,067.60 in November 2004, an invoice of $10,200.56 in December 2004, and an invoice of $8,320.00 in January 2005, and all inclusive of taxes.
In Year 6, there was only one invoice for medical modeling work, in the amount of $19,342.80 including taxes, dated April 2005.
The Joint Committee recommends approval of the 2005 Sufficiency Review payments to Dr. Krahn. No amounts are owing at this time.

Deloitte & Touche

Deloitte & Touche was appointed auditor of the Trust Fund pursuant to the Orders of the Courts. The Joint Committee recommends the continuation of this appointment.
In addition to the audit of the Trust Fund, the Joint Committee requested the following services from Deloitte & Touche:

i) The preparation of annual financial statements. Attached as Schedule A is a copy of financial statements prepared and audited by Deloitte & Touche.

ii) Consultations regarding the proposed Crawford Contract.

The chart set out below summarizes the work done by Deloitte & Touche in Year 7 in comparison to the Year 7 budget, and the proposed budget for Year 8.

Work	Year 7 Budget	Year 7 Actual	Year 8 Budget
Audit	64,000 + administration and travel costs	70,200	67,200
Financial Statements	10,000 + administration and travel costs	10,000	10,000
Administrator Cost Review	13,500 + administration and travel costs	Not requested.	Not requested.
Special Projects	5,000 + administration and travel costs	2,200	5,000

Deloitte & Touche exceeded their audit budget of $64,000 by $6,200. The Joint Committee has reviewed this over budget with Deloitte & Touche and is satisfied that the charges are appropriate in light of certain accounting complexities which arose in this year’s audit. These complexities include the Prince Edward Island disbursement issue (discussed in Schedule A hereof) and reconciliation issues between TD Asset Management Inc. and RBC Dexia. The Joint Committee recommends payment of this overage.
The Deloitte & Touche budget numbers are exclusive of travel costs, administration charges and GST. Variances from budget in the final invoices are a result of the addition of travel and administration charges. The costs incurred for the Audit, the Financial Statements, and Special Projects are $82,400 exclusive of an administrative charge of $4,944 and travel expenses of $1,275 for a total of $88,619.
A copy of the invoice for the work of Deloitte & Touche in Year 7 is attached as Schedule B. Deloitte & Touche received payment throughout the year of $68,055.84. The Joint Committee recommends approval of Deloitte & Touche’s outstanding charges for Year 7 and payment of the amount of $20,563.46, plus taxes, for a total of $21,797.27.
Deloitte & Touche proposes and the Joint Committee recommends that the budget for Deloitte & Touche for the year January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007 be $67,200 (Audit), $10,000 (Financial Statements) and $5,000 (Special Projects).

RBC Dexia

In Year 6, RBC Dexia was appointed successor Trustee of the Trust Fund pursuant to the Orders of the Courts, on the same terms and conditions under which Royal Trust was originally appointed.
Attached as Schedule C is a brief description from RBC Dexia of its Custodial Trustee activities in the year ended December 31, 2006.
The Courts approved an annual budget for RBC Dexia for Year 7 of $78,750.
The actual charge to the Trust Fund by RBC Dexia for the year ended December 31, 2006 was $70,000. No payments have been made to RBC Dexia beyond those expenses actually incurred. The Joint Committee recommends approval of the charges of $70,000 incurred by RBC Dexia in Year 7.
RBC Dexia proposes and the Joint Committee recommends that RBD Dexia’s budget for the year January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007 be $100,000. RBC Dexia will charge monthly an amount not to exceed $8,333.

TD Asset Management Inc.

TD Asset Management Inc. (“TD Asset Management”) was appointed Investment Manager of the Trust Fund pursuant to Orders of the Courts. The Joint Committee recommends the continuation of that appointment. Attached as Schedule D is confirmation that TD Asset Management has complied with the court approved Investment Guidelines.
The Courts approved an annual budget for TD Asset Management of $150,000 for the year ended December 31, 2006.
Total fees charged by TD Asset Management for Year 7 were $142,666.43. No payments have been made to TD Asset Management beyond those expenses actually incurred. Attached as Schedule E is the TD Asset Management Report setting out the actual charges for the year ended December 31, 2006. The Joint Committee recommends approval of the charge of $142,666.43 incurred by TD Asset Management in Year 7.
TD Asset Management proposes and the Joint Committee recommends that its budget for the year January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007 be $180,000. TD Asset Management will charge monthly, an amount not to exceed $15,000.

Eckler Limited

Eckler Ltd. was retained by Class Counsel and subsequently the Joint Committee to provide actuarial advice in respect of the Trust Fund.
Eckler Ltd. also provides advice to the Joint Committee in respect of investments on an as needed basis. As reported in the Year 6 Annual Report, the Joint Committee considered hiring an Investment Consultant for the Trust Fund on a full-time basis in Year 7, and continues in Year 8 to consider this option. The Joint Committee will seek the approval of the Courts on the appointment of any Investment Consultant to be retained.
Attached as Schedule F is the Report of Eckler Ltd. regarding its activities during Year 7.
Attached as Schedule G is an Investment Summary provided by Eckler Ltd.
The Courts approved an annual budget for Eckler Ltd.’s actuarial and investment review services of $42,750 to be paid in two payments of $4,400 and seven monthly instalments of $4,850.
Eckler Ltd. incurred $72,999 in charges for the period from April 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006. Of this amount, $40,745 related to sufficiency work (as indicated in the chart at paragraph 26 above), and the remaining $32,254 related to ongoing actuarial work. Eckler Ltd. was paid $42,750 in instalment payments. For Year 7, there is an outstanding balance owing to Eckler Partners of $30,249. Attached as Schedule H is the Accounting Summary of Eckler Ltd. Attached as Schedule I are copies of the invoices relating to the sufficiency work discussed at paragraph 26 above.
Eckler Ltd. has proposed and the Joint Committee recommends that the total budget for both actuarial services and investment review services be $60,000 for the year ending December 31, 2007 to be paid in two payments of $4,850 (as previously ordered by the Courts to be paid in January and February 2007) and ten monthly instalments of $5,030. Attached as Schedule J is the proposed budget for Year 8 of Eckler Ltd.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP

PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP provides annual updates for tax calculations on software used to calculate income loss, software maintenance for the software used to calculate loss of income claims, and separate software used to calculate and track loss of income payment caps and holdbacks, and advice, assistance and training to the Administrator of the Trust Fund with respects to both types of software.
The total budget approved for PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP in Year 7 by Court Order was $15,000 exclusive of GST.
Actual billings by PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP for services between April 1, 2006 and December 31, 2006, were $12,778.91, inclusive of taxes and disbursements. Part of this amount, namely, $1,201.51, was paid by the Administrator. A balance of $11,577.40 remains outstanding.
PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP was under budget by $2,221.09 in Year 7.
There were no monthly billings by PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP in Year 7. The Joint Committee asks for approval of the actual expenses of PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP and a direction that PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP be paid the outstanding amount of $11,577.40 by RBC Dexia.
The Joint Committee recommends that the budget of PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP for the year January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007 be $20,000.

LECG / Navigant Consulting Inc.

LECG was retained initially by the Joint Committee and subsequently by the Administrator to provide expert accounting services in respect of a number of complex self-employment loss of income claims and appeals. The Partner responsible, Paula Frederick, who has performed all of LECG’s work for the Trust Fund, has moved her practice from LECG to LAC Ltd. carrying on business as Navigant Consulting. The Joint Committee recommends that the Trust Fund continue to use Ms. Frederick’s services at her new firm, Navigant Consulting.
The Joint Committee budgeted $45,000 for the cost of LECG’s services in Year 7.
Actual billings by LECG for services between April 1, 2006 and December 31, 2006 were $12,453.75 and have been paid by Crawford. The Joint Committee recommends approval of these payments in the total amount of $12,453.75.
The need for these services will continue in Year 8. The Joint Committee recommends a budget of $20,000 for Navigant Consulting for the period of January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007. All amounts paid or payable to Navigant Consulting in Year 8 will be subject to approval by the Courts as in Year 7.

Canadian Blood Services

The total budget approved for Canadian Blood Services (“CBS”) in Year 7 was $31,482 exclusive of taxes. Actual expenses incurred by CBS in Year 7 were $36,468.40, which was $4,986.40 over budget. The Joint Committee recommends payment of CBS’ over budget of $4,968.40. The CBS actual versus budget reconciliation is attached as Schedule K.
The efficiency and effective conduct of tracebacks is a crucial component of the administration of the Plans. However, in the last few years, the demand for and costs of such tracebacks has been reduced significantly.
Attached as Schedule L is a copy of the proposed budget for CBS for the period January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007. The budgeted amount is $41,972 to be paid in monthly instalments not exceeding $3,497.66 plus GST.
The CBS budget again includes a cost for the continued storage of frozen blood samples obtained in the period from 1986 through 1992. In the Year 6 Annual Report, the Joint Committee indicated it intended to raise with the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Governments the issue of whether the governments would be interested in preserving these frozen blood samples in respect of the pre-1986/post-1990 claims, and assuming the related storage costs. The pre-1986/post-1990 settlement and its administration have not yet been finalized as of the date of this Annual Report. The Joint Committee will thus raise the frozen blood samples issue with the governments upon finalization of the settlement and administration of the pre-1986/post-1990 claims.

Héma-Québec

The total budget approved for Héma-Québec for the year ended December 31, 2006 was $7,933.04. Actual expenses incurred by Héma-Québec in Year 7 were $10,070.52 inclusive of taxes. At the beginning of Year 7, on April 1, 2006, Héma-Québec had a credit balance of $20,764.19. After deducting actual expenses of $10,070.52, Héma-Québec continues to have a credit balance in the amount of $10,693.67 as at the end of Year 7, December 31, 2006.
The proposed budget of Héma-Québec in Year 8 is $8,035.39.
The Joint Committee recommends that no payments be made to Héma-Québec in Year 8, but rather, that the actual costs be deducted from the remaining credit balance.
A court order will be sought in Quebec to deal with the Héma-Québec budget and the use of the remaining credit balance in Year 8.

Crawford

The Annual Report of the Administrator is attached as Schedule M.
As stated in paragraph 10 above, the Joint Committee has concluded terms of appointment and contractual terms with Crawford extending their appointment through December 31, 2007. The terms of appointment, the contract revisions and the extension of Crawford’s appointment to December 31, 2007 have been submitted to the Courts for approval.
The terms of Crawford’s contract provide for a fixed fee subject to adjustment increases or decreases depending, in effect, on the volume of work at the Centre. The contract provides that the reconciliation of the fixed fee to actual volume, be done periodically throughout the term of the contract. A final reconciliation is to be done as at December 31, 2006 for the short year ending December 31, 2006 and a further reconciliation as at December 31, 2007.
Attached as Schedule N is the reconciliation of fixed fee versus activity level for the year end at December 31, 2006 which shows a credit owing to the Fund from Crawford of $736.00.
As a result of the delay in the finalization of the Crawford terms of appointment and contract, payments to Crawford throughout 2006 did not match exactly the contractual terms. Accordingly, Schedule N includes a reconciliation of the amounts received by Crawford versus Crawford’s entitlement under the new terms of appointment.
The new contractual provisions with Crawford require repayment to Crawford of third party out-of-pocket expenses (accounting and medical experts), plus out-of-pocket appeal costs (appeal travel and disbursements) incurred by Crawford. The total cost of these expenses in the year ending December 31, 2006 is $38,843.98. The reconciliation of these amounts in the overall Crawford reconciliation is also set out in Schedule N.
One additional item to be dealt with in the reconciliation relates to $8,108.49 which was reimbursed to the Trust Fund by the Federal Government in respect of work done by Crawford for the benefit of the Federal Government. Payment to Crawford for Year 6 had been reduced by the $8,108.49. Accordingly, that amount is now being added to monies owing to Crawford as part of the overall reconciliation.
Accordingly, the amount of $163,488.07 is owing to Crawford and the Joint Committee recommends payment of $163,488.07 by RBC Dexia.

Fund Counsel

Belinda Bain and John Callaghan were appointed as Fund Counsel in the Ontario Class Actions by Order of the Ontario Court of Justice for Ontario. Catherine Mandeville was appointed Fund Counsel in Quebec Class Actions by Order of the Quebec Superior Court and Bill Ferguson was appointed Fund Counsel in the B.C. Class Actions by Order of the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
In the nine-month period ending December 31, 2006, the total Fund Counsel fees were $291,220 exclusive of taxes and disbursements. No amounts have been or will be paid to Fund Counsel without prior court approval of the fees and disbursements.
Fund Counsel estimates that the volume of appeal work in Year 8 will increase compared to Year 7, due to the twelve-month fiscal year of Year 8 compared to the short, nine-month fiscal year of Year 7. Also, it is anticipated that the complexity of appeal work will increase.
Attached as Schedule O is the report of Fund Counsel on their activities and their fees incurred in the nine months ending December 31, 2006.

Joint Committee

A summary of the work of the Joint Committee in the past nine months is set out in Schedule P.

The total budget for fees, including regular fees and sufficiency-related fees for the Joint Committee for the period ending December 31, 2006 was $850,000. The total actual fees of the Joint Committee in Year 7 were significantly under budget, equalling approximately $516,588.44. The total actual disbursements of the Joint Committee in Year 7 were also significantly under budget. The total budget for regular and sufficiency-related disbursements was $120,000, while the actual disbursements of the Joint Committee in Year 7 were $31,665.99. A breakdown of these amounts is provided in the following chart.

JOINT COMMITTEE ACTUAL VERSUS BUDGET FOR YEAR 7
BUDGET ITEM	Year 7 Budget	Year 7 Actual	Variance from Budget
Regular Fees	550,000	438,501.25	(111,498.75)
Regular Disbursements	60,000	30,292.31	(29,707.69)
Sufficiency Fees	300,000	78,087.19	(221,912.81)
Sufficiency Disbursements	60,000	1,373.68	(58,626.32)
TOTALS	970,000	548,254.43	(421,745.57)

A detailed summary by province of the fees and disbursements incurred by the Joint Committee in Year 7 is also set out in Schedule Q. No amounts have been or will be paid to the Joint Committee without prior court approval of the fees and disbursements.
The Joint Committee estimates that the fees and disbursements for the year January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007 will be $650,000 (fees) and $50,000 (disbursements). The Joint Committee has prepared a budget proposal for its fees and disbursements for Year 8 which is detailed in the brief summary attached as Schedule P.

Referees and Arbitrators

In the nine-month period ending December 31, 2006, the total fees for the Arbitrators and Referees were approximately $132,638.85 exclusive of taxes and disbursements.
A brief summary of the work of the Referees and Arbitrators as well as the fees incurred for the period April 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006 is set out in Schedule R.
The Joint Committee notes that the number of appeals is declining markedly and if that trend continues the fees of the Arbitrators and Referees in Year 8 will be similar to or less than those incurred in Year 7.

Dated: April 2, 2007
___________________________________
J.J. Camp,
Camp Fiorante Matthews

Dated: April 2, 2007
___________________________________
Harvey Strosberg,
Sutts Strosberg LLP

Dated: April 2, 2007
___________________________________
Michel Savonitto,
Marchand Melançon Forget LLP

Dated: April 2, 2007
___________________________________
Bonnie A. Tough,
Tough & Podrebarac LLP

*Proprietary, personal and financially sensitive information has been excluded from the publicly-disclosed copies of this report.

March 7, 2007