For years, a major public sector pension governance time bomb has been hidden in plain sight. But it may be too late to alert the bomb squad; the coronavirus pandemic and climate change may have already activated a countdown that can’t be stopped. Investment management is a key component of sustainability and central to any pension governance […]
On the heels of winning re-election in British Columbia, the New Democratic Party’s work is just beginning, particularly in delivering on its promise to extend pensions and benefits to precarious workers across the province. In its re-election platform, the party pledged to develop a government-backed, collective benefit fund for independent contractors, self-employed and part-time workers, […]
In the world of investing that incorporates environmental, social and governance factors, environment and governance have been very prominent parts of the conversation to date. And now, the pandemic is shining a new light on the importance of considering social factors in investment decision-making. At the Canadian Investment Review’s 2020 Global Investment Conference, Catherine Jackson, […]
Before the pandemic hit, momentum was building to fight climate change, said Eli Angen, a principal in responsible investing, strategy and risk at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. At the Canadian Investment Review’s 2020 Global Investment Conference in September, Angen pointed to the decreasing cost of the energy transition and greater societal and business awareness […]
The interest in environmental, social and governance investing has risen exponentially over the past 20 years, but ESG investing is still in its early stages, said Peter Lindley, president and chief executive officer of the OPSEU Pension Trust, when speaking at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2020 Global Investment Conference in September. “As a long-term investor, […]
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is changing its process for consenting to asset transfers under the Pension Benefits Act, citing the province’s current state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic. Effective immediately, the new process will allow the FSRA to provide consent through a letter after a 10-day notice period, during which […]
In its 2020 budget submission to the Ontario government, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is highlighting a lack of access to affordable prescription drugs and inflexible pension plans. With respect to prescription drugs, the CLHIA noted it supports the federal Patented Medicine Prices Review Board reforms, which were introduced on Friday. “It is crucial that the […]
Canada’s retirement income system scored ninth place for the second year in a row, securing a “B” rating in spite of uncertainty in the markets as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The annual global pension index by Mercer and the CFA Institute noted the pandemic’s effects on the global pension fund markets aren’t only widespread […]
With federal and provincial regulators introducing relief measures this year to support pension plans amid the financial upheaval resulting from the coronavirus crisis, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario saw a lot of action from plan sponsors registered in the province. “In terms of whether plans are taking advantage of the relief — they are in […]
Looking back at all of the pension legislation stories we’ve written up during the coronavirus pandemic, I’ve noticed federal and provincial governments definitely favoured defined benefit plans over defined contribution plans in their various temporary regulations. In the first month of the pandemic, the feds halted solvency special payments for federally regulated DB plans until […]