In its submission to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board’s draft guidelines, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is suggesting that the board consider disbursing excess revenues from pharmaceutical companies to employers rather than just to the provincial and territorial public payers. Currently, any excess revenues — determined by voluntary compliance undertaking or orders […]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government plans to move out-of-work Canadians into the employment insurance system and provide parallel support for millions set to exhaust emergency pandemic aid who don’t have EI to fall back on. The $80-billion Canada Emergency Response Benefit is set to wind down over the coming weeks, with those who […]
The federal government is easing eligibility rules for the government’s emergency wage subsidy and changing the amounts businesses can receive. The government had been under pressure to make the subsidy more accessible, specifically by loosening the requirement of a 30 per cent drop in revenues, so more companies under that cut-off can qualify. Speaking in Toronto […]
The Federal Court has upheld reforms to the Patented Medicines Pricing Review Board that updated the board’s reference countries for drug pricing and required it to review three new economic factors when determining whether patented medicines are excessively priced. The court ruled against an argument by Innovative Medicines Canada and 16 pharmaceutical companies in their […]
While 67 per cent of Canadian plan members described their level of knowledge about a possible national pharmacare program as low or medium, 27 per cent said they don’t know anything at all about it, according to the 2020 Sanofi Canada health-care survey. Among plan sponsor respondents, 73 per cent described their level of knowledge […]
As reported earlier this month, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board has published a new draft of its guidelines and launched a 30-day written consultation period. While the law and regulations have already been passed, the implementation has been delayed from July 1, 2020 to Jan. 1, 2021. The new draft guidelines are in response […]
The federal government and several provinces are signing a new agreement regarding administration and regulation of multi-jurisdictional pension plans. The provincial governments of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are all on board with the agreement, which replaces the 2016 version, only signed by some provinces; a 1968 reciprocal agreement signed between all […]
If employee productivity increases by two per cent per year for the next decade, Canadians could enjoy a four-day workweek without giving up income or sacrificing their living standards, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute. “In light of the COVID-19 lockdown, there’s been a lot of talk about a possible four-day workweek […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has created many complicated issues for employers. Prudent employers should ensure they’re aware of the resources that may be available during this uncertain time when information regarding government support is rapidly changing. Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy On March 30, the federal government announced the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, a program that will […]
With the coronavirus pandemic causing pain for employers and employees across the country, many organizations want to help out those in need. But can pension funds go as far as making financial donations to charities? Last week, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec announced it’s donating $300,000 to five organizations for coronavirus relief, […]