While Amazon.com Inc. has Alexa and Apple Inc. has Siri, Morneau Shepell Ltd. is introducing a new virtual assistant designed to help employees with their human resources needs. Ava,…
SSQ Life Insurance Co. Inc. is partnering with digital health-care provider Dialogue to provide its employees and insured plan members with same-day access to health professional services…
When it comes to issues such as medical marijuana, it’s important to draft tightly worded benefits plans, according to a Toronto lawyer. Ross Gascho, a partner at…
While the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association acknowledges that Health Canada’s proposed approach to the regulation of marijuana aims to improve patient access, it’s expressing concern…
Since Ontario rolled out its new pharmacare program for youth on Jan. 1, multiple media reports have detailed the challenges faced by some people in transitioning to…
About a quarter (23 per cent) of full-time American employees don’t receive workplace benefits such as health insurance, paid vacation or a retirement savings plan, according…
A proposed guideline setting out standards for the disclosure of intermediary compensation in group benefits and retirement services could have a big effect on the market. Dave Patriarche,…
The Co-operators Life Insurance Co. is introducing retiree benefits plans to help its group plan members transition from their company’s health and dental plans upon…
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association will be holding information sessions in the coming weeks about its new guideline for disclosing compensation to intermediaries…
As the ways that Canadians use smartphones and apps continue to evolve, what are the implications for those technologies in health-care and wellness services? According to recent…
Universal pharmacare is an “overly simplistic” solution that risks cutting access to drugs, says a senior executive at one of Canada’s largest pharmaceutical companies. “It…
Employers will see private drug plan costs rise by about six per cent annually over the next five years, according to a prediction by a…
Employers should review their drug plans annually to make sure they’re getting value for money, according to a speaker at the recent Face to Face…
What’s the impact of a potential national pharmacare program on private drug plans? Attendees heard the range of perspectives at the recent Face to Face…
From biosimilars to product listing agreements, a panel of experts tackled some of the hottest topics in drug plan management at the Face to Face…
As a new year begins, many organizations are considering their strategies for benefits plan management in 2018 and beyond. Faced with the challenge of balancing employee needs and…
An Ottawa labour council has set up a hotline to allow employees to report on companies that are cutting paid breaks and other benefits following Ontario’s minimum wage…
Controversy continues to swirl as politicians have started weighing in on moves by some Tim Hortons franchises to cut benefits and paid breaks in response to a…
The Ontario Energy Board is ordering Ontario Power Generation Inc. to cut a substantial amount from its pensions and benefits costs by 2021. In a report published last…
In 2016, more than 20,500 Canadians benefited from the private insurance drug pooling systems, according to the Canadian Drug Insurance Pooling Corporation (CDIPC). Further, CDIPC’s…
At least 1,460 Canadians have died from opioid-related overdoses in the first half of 2017 — a number that’s expected to rise, as not all…
Manitoba’s finance minister says he and his counterparts will take another look at changes to the Canada Pension Plan amid concerns that low-income workers and…
As the debate continues over the potential impact of new labour reforms in Ontario, a fast-food operator has come under the spotlight for some of…
One of the biggest topics in the health and benefits industry in 2017 was the federal government’s new 18-month parental leave option. Three stories on this…
Quebec employers are expressing concern about the business impact of the province’s move to eliminate disparities in pension and supplementary group benefits plans. “It’s an…