Employees affected by the coronavirus in British Columbia will qualify for up to three days of paid sick leave under proposed legislation that Premier John Horgan expects will plug holes in a federal plan and lay the groundwork for a permanent program. Horgan says the program will bridge the gap for workers between the time they first feel […]
Green Shield Canada is appointing Michael Bradie as its new vice-president of growth and client service. He most recently served as Green Shield Canada’s director of strategic innovation and prior to that he was an associate at McKinsey & Co. Bradie also previously worked at Green Shield Canada, as supervisor of corporate analytics from 2013 to […]
Canadian employers are making ongoing changes to their pension and benefits offerings as the coronavirus pandemic drags on, according to a new survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. The survey found almost one in five (18 per cent) employers offering prescription drug coverage have extended the time allowed under prior authorization periods, […]
While the debate over paid sick days intensifies across Canada, only two provinces currently offer this benefit on a permanent basis. On April 30, Ontario passed a three-day sick leave policy — to be administered through the Workplace Insurance and Safety Board — retroactive to April 19 and ending on Sept. 25. Employers will be […]
Green Shield Canada is introducing a gender-affirmation offering in all group plans as a standard benefit. The offering is effective June 30 and reimburses plan sponsors with expenses that are “above and beyond typical plan designs,” according to a press release, which noted Green Shield Canada will also ensure all provincial and territorial health-care supports […]
Workers in Ontario will soon be able access three paid sick days to help them self-isolate during the coronavirus pandemic, but critics said the policy announced April 28 falls far short of what’s required to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government had for months resisted intense pressure from health experts and advocates […]
People Corp. is acquiring British Columbia-based Benefits by Design Inc. Benefits by Design is a benefits provider focused on the small-to-medium-sized segment of the Canadian market, specializing in designing, implementing and maintaining employee benefit solutions for their clients, according to a press release. In December, People Corp. was acquired by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s merchant […]
The New Brunswick government is expanding the use of biosimilars for certain chronic conditions in its public drug plans. Approximately 3,000 beneficiaries of the province’s drug plans who are living with diseases such as inflammatory arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes and psoriasis will have until Nov. 30 to switch from a biologic to the biosimilar […]
As it becomes increasingly clear that workplaces are a key transmission location in the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, some Canadian employers are offering paid sick leave to their employees in the absence of government action. Paid sick leave benefits, which allow workers to call in sick without fear of losing a day’s pay, […]
While a national pharmacare program is yet to be revealed by the federal government, any future plan should contain provisions for all costly treatments and not just rare diseases, says Jennifer Schmidt, a principal at Mercer Canada. Read: Federal budget highlights national childcare system, extension of pandemic subsidies This week’s federal budget announcement contained only […]