If BCE Inc. or Bell Canada decides to stop funding  any of its subsidiaries and that subsidiary does not have other sources of funding, this would have a mate- rial and negative effect on the subsidiary’s results of operations and financial condition and on the value  of its securities. In addition, BCE Inc. and Bell Canada do not have to remain the majority holder of, or maintain their current level or nature of ownership in, any subsidiary, unless they have agreed otherwise. The announcement of a decision by BCE Inc. or Bell Canada to change the nature of its investment in a subsidiary, to dispose of some or all of its interest in a subsidiary or any other similar decision could have a material and negative effect on the subsidiary’s results of operations and financial condition and on the value of its securities. If BCE Inc. or Bell Canada stops funding a sub- sidiary, changes the nature of its investment or dis- poses of all or part of its interest in a subsidiary,  stakeholders or creditors of the subsidiary might decide to take legal action against BCE Inc. or Bell Canada, respectively. For example, certain members  of the lending syndicate of Teleglobe, a former subsid- iary of BCE Inc., and other creditors of Teleglobe  have launched lawsuits against BCE Inc. following its  decision to stop funding Teleglobe. See Legal proceed- ings we are involved in in the BCE 2004 AIF for a description of these lawsuits. While we believe that these kinds of claims have no legal foundation, they could negatively affect the market price of BCE Inc.’s or Bell Canada’s securities. BCE Inc. and Bell Canada could also have to devote considerable management time and resources in responding to any such claim. Most of our pension plans had pension fund surpluses as of our most recent actuarial valuation. As a result, we have not had to make regular contributions to the pension funds in the past few years. The decline in the capital markets in 2001 and 2002, combined with historically low interest rates and early retirement programs recently offered to employees, have significantly reduced the pension fund surpluses. This has negatively affected our net earnings. Negotiations continue regarding the renewal of both collective agreements. The following important collective agreements expire on or before December 31, 2005: • the collective agreement between the Canadian Telecommunications Employees’ Association (CTEA) and Bell Canada representing approximately 10,000 clerical and associated employees, which expires on May 31, 2005. Negotiations began in March 2005. • certain collective agreements, representing approxi- mately 170 CTV Television Inc. employees, which expire as follows: – Sault Ste. Marie on April 8, 2005 – RDS Montréal on April 15, 2005 – Cape Breton, New Brunswick, North Bay and Saskatoon on August 31, 2005 • the collective agreement representing approximately 395 employees at  The Globe and Mail, which expires on July 1, 2005. 70 Bell Canada Enterprises  2004 Annual Report Pension Fund Contributions Renegotiating Labour Agreements Funding and Control of Subsidiaries Management’s Discussion and Analysis BCE Inc. and Bell Canada  are currently funding,  directly or indirectly, and may in the future continue to fund, the operating losses of some of their subsidiaries, but they are under no obli- gation to continue doing so.  Approximately 41% of our employees are represented  by unions and are covered by collective agreements. Renegotiating Labour Agreements Funding and Control  of Subsidiaries If returns on pension plan assets decline in the future or if interest rates decline further, the surpluses will also continue to decline. This could have a material and negative effect on our results of operations. We expect to contribute approximately $200 mil- lion to our defined benefit pension plans in 2005, sub- ject to the completion of actuarial valuations. Following the completion of such actuarial valuations, we might have to make contributions to our defined benefit  pension plans in 2005 in excess of the expected amount of approximately $200 million, which could have a negative effect on BCE Inc.’s liquidity. The following important collective agreements have expired: • the collective agreements between CTV Television Inc. and its employees in Calgary and Edmonton, rep- resenting approximately 150 employees, which expired on September 30, 2004 • the collective agreement between CTV Television Inc. and its employees in Ottawa, representing approx- imately 65 employees, which expired on Decem- ber 31, 2004.