According to a recent Broadbent Institute study, “the value of retirement assets of those aged 55 to 64 without an employer pension is wholly inadequate.” Since this is particularly true for private-sector workers across the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s young government has started to act, but the efforts fall short of what is urgently […]
The government could take on a $37.9 billion deficit and still maintain Canada’s debt-to-GDP ratio, argues the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in its 2016 Alternative Federal Budget (AFB). The think tank says the AFB would lift 1.1 million Canadians out of poverty, reduce income inequality, boost economic growth, and result in 520,000 new jobs, […]
Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa announced the province’s 2016 budget on Thursday, outlining a range of developments of interest to employers and benefit plan sponsors, including: Additional information on the implementation of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan. The government plans to outline further legislation for the ORPP to be introduced in the spring. This legislation will focus […]
Ontario is introducing changes to the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act, 2015 as well as other legislative pension amendments as part of its 2016 budget, which was unveiled on Thursday, Feb. 25. The goal of the PRPP changes is to “further facilitate harmonization with other jurisdictions and ensure the efficient operation of PRPPs,” according to […]
During its announcement of the 2016 Ontario Budget on Feb. 25, the provincial government said it’s on track to ensure that, by 2020, all eligible Ontario employees will be covered by a comparable workplace pension plan or the ORPP. While elements of the ORPP’s design were announced in January 2016, the government said it will outline further […]
During its 2016 budget, the Ontario government said it will introduce a redesigned public drug program by 2019. As part of Ontario’s Patients First: Action Plan for Health Care, the new program is aimed at improving long-term sustainability while ensuring access to drugs for people who need them. On Feb. 25, the government said: “It will […]
During its 2016 budget announcement on Feb. 25, the Ontario government also clarified its plans for reducing future WSIB premiums, continuing its review of benefits programs through income testing, and streamlining health, life and dental plans for the education sector. Future WSIB premium reductions When the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is fully funded — which […]
The Ontario government said it will continue to consult on all aspects of a target benefit multi-employer pension plans framework, including funding rules. In its 2016 budget, announced Feb. 25, the province said some concerns have been raised around transitioning multi-employer pension plans to a new framework, and it’s committed to providing a transition period that […]
A final report on modernizing and increasing accountability around the regulations of financial services and pension plans in Ontario is set to be released in the spring. According to the 2016 Ontario Budget, which was announced on Feb. 25, “The government is committed to modernizing and strengthening the regulation of financial services and pensions, and to […]
The Gender Wage Gap Steering Committee is to make recommendations in May 2016 to help shape the implementation of Ontario’s Gender Wage Gap Strategy. The 2016 Ontario Budget, which was announced on Feb. 25, said the committee, which was appointed in April 2015, is currently concluding its regional public consultations, stakeholder meetings and online survey. Read: Federal […]