Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP has named four new partners, including Anna Zalewski in its pension and benefits group. Zalewski joined the law firm in October 2011 after a one-year secondment as legal counsel with Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s law and policy group. Previous roles include communications and policy advisor at the Ontario Securities Transition Office and counsel at the Royal […]
The Laborers’ International Union of North America pension plan is suing a number of financial institutions for allegedly conspiring to fix prices within the foreign exchange market. The class action lawsuit alleges the defendants participated in manipulating the price of currency purchased in the foreign exchange market from at least as early as 2003 until 2013, according to a […]
While many employers are including wearable devices in their wellness programs to encourage employees to track their health outcomes, one technology giant was granted two patents at the end of January for wearable tracking systems that monitor employee performance. The devices aren’t yet in use by the technology giant, but if they’re implemented, warehouse employees would wear wristbands that communicate […]
Counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs are a rising risk to Canadians as they’re appearing in brick-and-mortar pharmacies, rather than just on the street or online, according to a new report by public policy think tank the Fraser Institute. It’s also a growing issue internationally and one that’s attracting the attention of policy-makers. But what does it mean for group benefits plans? Counterfeit […]
A recent court decision in Ontario serves as a reminder to employers to tread carefully when it comes to mass terminations. In the recent decision, Wood v. CTS of Canada Co., the Mississauga, Ont.-based employer was permanently closing a facility and provided a lengthy working notice of termination to 77 affected employees. However, the Ontario Superior Court […]
A group of Sears Canada Inc. pensioners will ask the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Thursday to appoint a litigation trustee to review certain actions leading up to the company’s restructuring proceedings in 2017. According to a notice of motion filed on Feb. 9, 2018, former Ontario Superior Court justice Frank Newbould, the group’s proposed trustee, would review, among other […]
Deron Waldock has joined McCarthy Tétrault LLP as a partner in its national pension, benefits and compensation group, working out of the firm’s Toronto office. “Deron is a great addition to our firm,” said Randy Bauslaugh, leader of the firm’s national pensions, benefits and executive compensation group, in a news release. “This area of law is […]
The ongoing Sears Canada Inc. and Wabush Mines restructurings illustrate that there’s perhaps nothing as vexing in insolvency situations as the position that pension deficits occupy in the pecking order of creditor priorities. Indeed, many observers cite the issues over the status of the deemed trust that most provinces’ legislation imposes on pension deficits as […]
After 18 years of litigation, a settlement has delivered $7 million to former employees of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. involved in two class action cases over their pension plan’s actuarial surplus. In the twin cases of Lacroix v. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. and McCann v. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., almost two decades […]
While the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association acknowledges that Health Canada’s proposed approach to the regulation of marijuana aims to improve patient access, it’s expressing concern that some of the proposed changes may result in unintended consequences. “In general, we support the proposed approach to the regulation of cannabis that maintains the current medical cannabis system, […]