Half (51 per cent) of plan members say the coverage levels of at least one of their health benefits limit their ability to seek necessary treatment, jumping to 84 per cent among those with a major injury in the past 12 months, according to the 2023 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. It found this percentage increased […]
The union representing 89 employees at the University of Toronto has ratified a two-year agreement that includes retirement and benefits gains, including gender affirmation coverage. The agreement includes six retiring allowance packages equivalent to two months of base wages for employees who qualify for an unreduced pension in accordance with the University Pension Plan’s provisions. […]
While gender affirmation and fertility benefits coverage still isn’t included in all group benefits plans, around half of Canada’s group benefits providers include gender affirmation coverage (50 per cent) or fertility benefits coverage (59 per cent) in some of their plan offers, according to an exclusive survey by Benefits Canada. The survey, which polled Canada’s […]
The union representing 70 employees at Northern Transformer in Vaughan, Ont. has ratified a four-year collective agreement that includes pension and benefits gains. The agreement introduces a group registered retirement savings plan and a deferred profit-sharing plan in which the company will provide a matching contribution of three per cent of regular earnings, capped at […]
A 2023 federal budget proposal to require employers to report dental coverage as part of the national dental-care program will be onerous on plan sponsors and still leaves more questions than answers, says Pam Martin, vice-president and senior consultant at Baynes & White Inc. Since dental benefits are important to an individual’s mental health, the federal government […]
An article on a 2023 budget proposal to require employers to report dental coverage as part of the national dental-care program was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Enhanced national dental plan to require reporting of employer-provided coverage: budget 2. CAAT raising DBplus […]
In its 2023 budget on Tuesday, the federal government proposed roughly $13 billion over the next five years and $4.4 billion ongoing to fully implement the national dental-care program. The plan — to be administered by Health Canada, with support from a third-party benefits administrator — will provide dental coverage for uninsured Canadians with annual […]
The union representing around 150 employees at West Fraser Timber in Fort Frances, Ont. has ratified a four-year collective agreement that includes multiple benefits gains. The new contract, which is retroactive to Aug. 1, 2022, includes a new maternity leave top-up program that provides new mothers with additional financial support. During the first eight weeks […]
A portable health benefits plan is a feasible, affordable and sustainable way to improve access to essential supplemental health and dental benefits for millions of Ontarians, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. It found the portable benefits plan would likely cost between $3.2 billion and $4.5 billion — excluding administration costs, […]
The union representing 450 employees at Domtar Corp. in Dryden, Ont. has ratified three collective agreements that include benefits and pension gains. The agreements include several group benefits enhancements, including $100 for vision, a $200 increase for dental and orthodontics, a $10,000 increase in life insurance, $1,000 for eye surgery and improvements in short- and […]