The Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, an organization consisting of institutional investors, has released a guide for company boards seeking to oversee environmental and social issues within their investments. The guidebook offers 29 recommendations covering eight key governance areas, aiming to help boards effectively oversee company disclosure of environmental and social matters. “Companies and investors around the […]
Blue Pier is introducing a new customized, fully outsourced workplace pension plan to encourage all employers to offer retirement savings programs to their employees. The product allows employers to choose the plan design, including defined benefit, defined contribution, target benefit and hybrid options. They then enrol staff and make contributions, while Blue Pier will manage the plan, […]
As lobbying efforts intensify to keep Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ employees in the public service pension, plans are moving ahead to convert a multi-union, multi-employer plan into a target-benefit arrangement. Collective agreements ratified in September 2015 between the United Steelworkers union and CNL state that employees hired before that date would stay in the public plan until September 2018, […]
Earlier this month, the Pension Investment Association of Canada came out in support of Ontario’s proposed regulations for variable benefits from defined contribution pension plans. The support came with a caveat, however. “PIAC supports the proposal that the provision of variable benefits from DC plans is voluntary for employers,” Brenda King, chair of the association, […]
Pension plan sponsors can save money by ensuring their plan texts and other communications materials are free of mistakes, says Mitch Frazer, a partner and the chair of the pensions and employment practice at Torys LLP. At a pension and benefits fundamentals program held by the Toronto chapter of the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists […]
As part of its plan to address environmental, social and governance factors, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has released its first stewardship investing report. The report outlined the Caisse’s strategic actions on key issues like climate change, corporate governance, women in business and international taxation. “We’ve been integrating ESG factors into our investment processes for […]
For more than 30 years, Canada’s public sector pension organizations have distinguished themselves by delivering secure, sustainable defined benefit pensions and, in the process, have earned a reputation as global leaders. That wasn’t always the case, so will it continue to be the case in 30 years? Six years ago, The Economist published a report that described how […]
The Alberta Investment Management Corp. is emphasizing the business case for increased female participation on corporate boards. In its response to a request for comment on the issue of gender diversity on corporate boards issued by the British Columbia Securities Commission, the organization noted that companies should already be working to promote more female participation in senior […]
From governance to engagement, plan sponsors are looking for solutions to improve their defined contribution pension plans. What tools are available to plan sponsors to boost their plan outcomes and how can they put them into action With case studies from plan sponsors that have already found some of the answers and presentations by experts […]
For any pension plan administrator looking for guidance around governance responsibilities, look no further than the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities’ guideline No. 4. The guideline, which was originally published in 2004, offers a principles-based approach, recognizing there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to governance and leaving implementation up to the plan administrator. The guideline and its accompanying […]