Providing income support for a year to people who are too sick to work would cost the federal government $1 billion more than its current program, the parliamentary spending watchdog said Thursday. As is, the benefit available through employment insurance covers just over half of a worker’s earnings for 15 weeks, and nearly four in […]
The federal government’s 2019 budget proposed changes that could affect the viability and attractiveness of stock options as a recruitment and retention tool for certain employers even as it gives these employers a tax break for shares issued pursuant to these options. On the one hand, the budget proposed imposing an annual cap of $200,000 […]
The advisory council on the implementation of national pharmacare has submitted its interim report to the federal government. The report sets out three initial recommendations for the implementation of national pharmacare: Creating a national drug agency to oversee national pharmacare; Developing a comprehensive, evidence-based list of prescribed drugs — a national formulary — to harmonize coverage […]
Saskatchewan will soon be the latest jurisdiction to adopt an enhanced priority for deemed trusts created by its pension benefits legislation. The Pension Benefits Act establishes a deemed trust for amounts contributed by both employers and employees. Bill 151, which amends the province’s Personal Property Security Act, will create a super-priority for these trusts when […]
The federal government says it’s preparing to address one of the key tax issues that has caused massive headaches for government employees overpaid by its problem-plagued civil service pay system. The Finance Department has drafted legislation that would see overpaid employees, regardless of who they work for, required to repay only the amounts deposited into […]
Any modifications to federal pension legislation should encourage plan sponsors to continue offering defined benefit pension plans, while helping them fulfil their pension promises to plan members, according to the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. “Fulfilling pension promises is especially important for those plan members who can least afford the risk of benefit reductions, such as those with […]
With privacy and data protection laws in Canada and abroad evolving, these changes serve as a reminder to employers to be more stringent in safeguarding the information entrusted to them, particularly by their employees. Employers collect a myriad of personal information from their employees, including health details, spousal status, marriage breakdown information and union membership for plan administrative purposes, noted […]
With just about a month to go until the federal government’s long-awaited Canada Pension Plan enhancements kick in on Jan. 1, 2019, Scott Perkin is relaxed about the prospect. Although the changes have been billed as one of the biggest shakeups to the CPP since its introduction in the mid-1960s, Perkin, the director of pension […]
Ontario’s smallest companies will be saving on their employer health tax come Jan. 1, 2019. The province’s 2018 economic outlook and fiscal review, presented by Finance Minister Vic Fedeli on Thursday, proposed an increase to the amount of payroll eligible for exemption from the employer health tax from $450,000 to $490,000 for organizations with 10 or […]
The Constitution allows Ottawa and the provinces to set up a national securities regulator, the Supreme Court says in a ruling that could help advance a plan for countrywide oversight of capital markets. In its unanimous ruling Friday, the high court also found that federal draft legislation for national regulation of the trade in stocks, […]