The ongoing Sears Canada Inc. and Wabush Mines restructurings illustrate that there’s perhaps nothing as vexing in insolvency situations as the position that pension deficits occupy in the pecking order of creditor priorities. Indeed, many observers cite the issues over the status of the deemed trust that most provinces’ legislation imposes on pension deficits as […]
More than half (57 per cent) of Canadian employees and managers are currently suffering from a mental-health problem or sleeping disorder, or have done so in the past, according to new research by Morneau Shepell Ltd. However, 27 per cent of employees and 32 per cent of managers surveyed said they’re able to go through their daily work […]
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, which stands for automated virtual assistant, uses artificial intelligence to answer human resources questions through platforms used by both Morneau Shepell and its employer clients. “An ever-increasing number of employees are […]
Strong growth and equity markets have helped to boost the performance of pooled fund managers to a median return of 8.6 per cent before management fees in 2017, according to a new report from Morneau Shepell Ltd. The results reflect about 324 pooled funds from almost 50 investment management firms with a combined market value of […]
How employees react to stress has a bigger impact on total health than the condition itself, according to a new report from Morneau Shepell Ltd. “Stress itself is not something that is good or bad — it is merely a demand on physical or mental energy,” said Bill Howatt, chief research and development officer for workplace […]
Plan sponsors and administrators finally have guidance on Quebec’s supplemental pension plan legislation, two years after initial amendments on Jan. 1, 2016. The regulations, which came into force on Jan. 4, 2018, don’t differ significantly from the draft version circulated for consultation last summer. The key features address annuity purchases, funding policies and variable benefits. Read: New pension […]
With 2017 coming to a close and 2018 on the horizon, professionals in the pension, investment, benefits and human resources industries have a number of dates to add to their calendars for the new year. Jan. 1: Ontario’s new youth pharmacare program takes effect. It will provide universal coverage of all medicines listed in the Ontario Drug Benefit […]
Alberta is implementing it’s first job-protected bereavement leave as of Jan. 1, 2018. In addition to the death of an immediate family member or of a spouse, the three-day unpaid leave is also available for the loss of a person the employee isn’t related to but considers to be like a close relative. Bereavement leave is available for employees across […]
Employers in search of simpler retirement products for their workers are looking to group registered retirement savings plans and deferred profit-sharing plans as a solution, say experts at capital accumulation plan providers. Benefits Canada’s 2017 CAP Suppliers Report shows that the number of plan sponsors offering DPSPs has ballooned by 112 per cent over the past decade, from 3,539 […]
Rates of workplace absenteeism reached peak levels in 2016 compared to the last five years in both the public and private sectors, according to Statistics Canada. The public sector lost 13.5 days per employee on average, up from 12.5 in 2012. The private sector had been trending down from 8.3 days in 2012 but returned […]