Green Shield Canada is launching a new benefits product, which will focus on drug coverage and mental-health support and eliminate coverage for massage therapy. The new plan, called SMARTspend, will include a managed drug formulary with 100 per cent coverage and no dollar caps, digital mental-health support options, health coaching from pharmacists and dietitians and vision […]
Unifor members who work at the Toronto Marriott Bloor Yorkville have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new collective agreement, which includes expanded benefits for dependants of part-time employees. The benefits will now include dental coverage, eye exams, prescription drugs and life insurance. The new agreement also includes an increase in pension contributions by 27 per cent over […]
Reimbursing benefits, accessing dental plans and designating death benefit beneficiaries are among the most important unresolved issues from a decade of recommendations by Veterans Affairs Canada ombudsman Guy Parent. In a new report card grading the Canadian government’s response to recommendations made by his office to improve services and support for veterans and their families, Parent […]
A lack of benefits, including medical, dental and disability, is the biggest challenge of working in the gig economy, according to a new survey by BMO Wealth Management. Among 1,000 Canadian small business owners surveyed, 69 per cent said a lack of medical, dental or disability benefits is the largest financial downside to working in the gig economy. Broken down by age group, 87 […]
Bombardier Inc.’s 2,100 production and office workers operating in Toronto will see improvements to their pension and dental benefits, as well as the introduction of a retirement incentive scheme, as part of the latest collective agreement between Unifor Local 112 and the company. The pension increases, which amount to an additional $6 each month per year of […]
When Ontario abolished mandatory retirement in 2006, employers could still terminate benefits for workers who turned 65. But in May, the province’s Human Rights Tribunal determined the provision in the Human Rights Code that allowed employers to do so was unconstitutional. Previously, employers often offered benefits to older workers to encourage them to stay and […]
Despite not yet announcing its election platform, Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party may have the greatest potential for affecting pensions and benefits in Ontario. “The Conservatives’ broad focus on balancing the budget, which may result in their rationalizing OHIP and delisting some services, represents the real impact potential in this election,” says Anneliesje Warner, a health […]
Over the past 10 years, administrative staff at arts non-profits have seen a decline in their employee benefits, according to a report by the Cultural Human Resources Council. Nearly 500 organizations participated in the survey, more than double the 218 respondents to the 2008 study. Therefore, the data may simply paint a clearer picture of the […]
It’s not often that the issues relevant to benefits plans emerge as an area of focus in the political realm. But with votes up for grabs and politicians eager to find any way to harness them, it appears issues of drugs and dental care are moving up the political agenda. In the federal arena, the […]
As the debate over pharmacare heats up, a new report released by the C.D. Howe Institute is suggesting expanded public coverage for dental services. “Many Canadians today, including most of the working poor and the retired, are covered neither by government programs nor by private insurance,” said Ake Blomqvist, an adjunct research professor at Carleton […]