Hub International Ltd. is acquiring Ontario-based Benefit Broker Services Inc. Benefit Broker Services, which is located in Wallaceburg, Ont., is a provider of services related to employee benefits and pension plans. The terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed. Scott Ewing, the firm’s president, and Stacey Ewing, its co-founder and owner, will join Hub Ontario, reporting […]
With SSQ Life Insurance Co. Inc.’s partnership with Allianz Global Benefits last month, the Canadian insurer is looking to provide its employer clients with the advantages of international risk pooling. Though the concept is more familiar in countries where multinational companies are headquartered, international risk pooling is a way to provide health and insurance benefits using […]
One in every five Canadian suffers from some form of chronic pain, a condition that often — though not always —starts with an injury or illness and lasts more than three months or beyond the normal recovery period. With so many Canadians suffering from chronic pain, one would assume its treatment would be well understood in […]
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 […]
Manulife Financial Corp. is launching a medical marijuana program in partnership with Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. this fall. The program, which will be available for participating group benefits plans and individual plans in Canada, will involve specially trained pharmacists from Shoppers Drug Mart at a patient care centre based in Ontario. The pharmacists will be available to […]
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 […]
Delta Air Lines Inc. employees in Canada, represented by the United Steelworkers union, have ratified a new five-year contract, which includes maintaining their defined benefit plan and improvements to their paramedical and vision benefits. “This contract represents a great achievement for our members and for our bargaining committee,” said Steven Hadden, president of the United Steelworkers, […]
There were almost 4,000 opioid-related deaths in Canada in 2017, according to Health Canada statistics released in June. Meanwhile, in the United States, a new survey by the National Business Group on Health found 60 per cent of large employers had experienced at least one issue stemming from prescription opioid misuse or abuse in the workplace. Forty […]
Aurora Cannabis Inc. is rolling out a new employee benefits plan that includes coverage of medical marijuana. The plan, which will be administered by Sun Life Financial Inc., will cover the drug for Aurora’s employees and their dependents. “The speed with which Canada’s largest insurers are moving to cover the costs of medical cannabis reflects the increasing […]
SSQ Life Insurance Co. Inc. is partnering with Allianz Global Benefits to grow its group insurance business across Canada. “This type of collaboration is a first for SSQ Insurance,” said Geneviève Fortier, senior vice-president of distribution at SSQ Insurance, in a news release. “By adding the expertise and global reach of Allianz Global Benefits to our service […]