In advance of Ontario’s election on June 7, the Human Resources Professionals Association is setting out several recommendations for the province’s political parties, including more clarity around recreational marijuana rules. In light of the drug’s impending legalization, the HRPA’s election suggestions call for setting a clear legal definition of impairment as well as the grounds under which an employer […]
New federal legislation around pharmaceutical patents will impose significant costs on public and private drug plans, the parliamentary budget officer is predicting. The legislation would have cost drug plans and consumers an extra $392 million in 2015 had it been in place that year, the report, released in late April, estimates. Of that, $214 million […]
Ontario passed pay transparency legislation on Thursday, making it the first province to do so. Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, the province will require all job postings advertised publicly to include salary rate or range information, prohibit employers from asking candidates about past compensation and ban reprisals against workers who discuss or disclose their pay, according to […]
A federal spending watchdog says it could cost federal coffers more than $76 billion a year to provide a national, guaranteed minimum income similar to the one being tested in Ontario. The parliamentary budget officer says the federal government would have to find about $43.1 billion to cover the full cost of the program because […]
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 has published a description of its proposed regulations around the payment of variable benefits from defined contribution pension plans one year after announcing its intention to permit the option. The provincial government announced its plans in its 2017 budget. Once passed, Ontario will follow in the footsteps of other jurisdictions allowing the option, including British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, […]
The province of Ontario is tackling pay transparency by introducing legislation that requires employers to track and publish information about compensation in their organizations. The proposed legislation, if passed, will require all publicly advertised job postings to include a range or rate of salary, prohibit employers from inquiring about a job candidate’s past compensation and prohibit reprisals against employees who […]
Plan sponsors and administrators finally have guidance on Quebec’s supplemental pension plan legislation, two years after initial amendments on Jan. 1, 2016. The regulations, which came into force on Jan. 4, 2018, don’t differ significantly from the draft version circulated for consultation last summer. The key features address annuity purchases, funding policies and variable benefits. Read: New pension […]
If there’s one thing that’s clear about pension reform in 2018, it’s that sponsors will have their hands full, particularly in Ontario. “There’s no question in my mind that impending changes to Ontario’s pension laws will motivate administrators and service providers to up their game,” says Mary Picard, a partner at Dentons Canada LLP’s Toronto […]