The Alberta government is bringing excessive salaries for the province’s post-secondary presidents in line with the national average, eliminating perks and setting guidelines for health and retirement benefits under a new compensation framework. Coming in April 15, this is the latest step in the government’s agencies, boards and commissions review, which is aiming to save the government about $33 million […]
Following in the footsteps of other Canadian provinces, Quebec has introduced a bill to amend its labour laws that includes changes to sick leave entitlements. Currently, employees in Quebec can take to up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave annually due to sickness, organ or tissue donation, an accident, domestic violence or a criminal offence. The latest proposals include two […]
Ontario’s move to expand its youth pharmacare program to seniors in 2019 could be a significant win for plan sponsors offering retiree benefits. “A company would see significant balance-sheet reduction and lower accounting expense, as well as lower cash costs,” says Nabil Merali, senior vice-president and Ontario market leader for health and benefits at Aon Hewitt. […]
While Wednesday’s provincial budget in Ontario offered details on the inclusion of seniors in the government’s pharmacare program, Ontarians over age 65 aren’t the only cohort set to benefit from expanded drug coverage. Through the introduction of the Ontario drug and dental program, all Ontarians will be eligible for some coverage in those areas if they aren’t already […]
The number of Ontarians using the Trillium drug program increased threefold between the beginning of 2000 and the end of 2016, according to a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Between 2000 and 2015, the number of overall Trillium recipients increased 176,299 from 55,571. During the same time frame, the proportion of plan beneficiaries […]
With fraud prevention month underway, just how big of a problem is the issue for plan sponsors? “As an industry, we estimate that benefits fraud is costing . . . hundreds of millions in terms of the impact, so certainly not a small problem,” says Karen Voin, vice-president of group benefits and anti-fraud at the Canadian Life […]
The announcement in late January that 70 of the most commonly prescribed drugs will see their prices fall by as much as 40 per cent on April 1 was certainly welcome news for plan sponsors. The deal, reached by the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance and the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association, will bring the cost of some generic products down […]
A former Atlas Copco Canada Inc. manager sentenced to jail time for his part in a benefits kickback scheme now faces a $20-million bill from his former employer after the multinational industrial giant won a civil judgment against him. Dirk Plate, a one-time manager of Atlas Copco’s construction and mining division at its Canadian base in […]
Medical marijuana producer Tilray Canada Ltd. is entering into a letter of intent to become the preferred supplier for Pharmasave. Subject to federal regulations legalizing marijuana, Tilray will supply and distribute its product through the retailer’s pharmacists. As a member-governed co-operative, Pharmasave’s reach includes 650 independently owned pharmacies in Canada. “Tilray’s products are available in 10 countries around the […]
The vast amount of variation in a disease such as lung cancer often signals different treatment options for patients. At the Employers Cancer Care Summit in February, Dr. Rosalyn Juergens, chair of the lung cancer disease site team and head of the department of clinical trials at the Juravinski Cancer Centre, spoke about some of […]