Health Minister Mark Holland tabled a long-awaited bill Thursday meant to pave the way for national pharmacare and preserve a deal that secures the New Democratic Party’s support for the government in the House of Commons. The bill includes a program to cover birth control as well as diabetes drugs and supplies for anyone with […]
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario’s revised proposed guidance on retroactive adverse amendments for pension plan administrators is inconsistent with existing case law, the wording of the Pension Benefits Act and the principles of statutory interpretation, said the Association of Canadian Pension Management, in an open letter. The FSRA’s proposed guidelines aim to provide greater […]
A new federal tax exemption for employee ownership trusts could spur retiring business owners to sell their companies to workers, says Jon Shell, managing director of Social Capital Partners. The federal government’s 2023 budget introduced tax rules to facilitate the creation of EOTs, but the legislation was criticized by experts for its lack of incentives […]
Canadians could see a regime change in the next federal election if the current housing crisis holds tight, according to Chantal Hébert, political commentator, journalist, columnist and author, during the keynote session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2023 Risk Management Conference. While health care and inflation are major concerns for Canadians, the one issue that keeps coming to the forefront […]
There’s a distinct window of opportunity for institutional investors to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through refurbishing brown buildings in Europe to make them operationally carbon neutral, said Lucy Swinton, investment director at Fidelity International, during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2023 Global Investment Conference. Environmental, social and governance — particularly the ‘E’ aspects — is increasingly becoming a disruptive […]
While individual pension plans have been around since 1991, they aren’t being widely used by the people they’re designed to help and remain poorly understood by the traditional pension sector, says Jean-Pierre Laporte, chief executive officer of Integris Pension Management Corp. “There’s no published statistics, but the last number I heard from a [Canada Revenue […]
Wells Fargo has agreed to a pay US$1 billion to settle a lawsuit filed by its two public sector pension plans who alleged the bank made misleading statements about its compliance with federal regulators after a fake account-opening scandal came to light in 2016. The class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of members of […]
Jessica Tincopa may leave the photography business she spent 14 years building for one reason — to find coverage for fertility treatment. After six miscarriages, Tincopa and her husband started saving for in vitro fertilization, which can cost more than US$20,000. But the coronavirus pandemic wiped out their savings and they can’t find coverage for IVF in their state’s health insurance marketplace. So the California couple is saving again and […]
An opinion piece on how certain aspects of the Quebec government’s rules and constraints on private drug plans affect pharmacy costs was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this past week. 1. Sounding Board: Why do Quebec’s private drug plans pay higher pharmacy fees? 2. Custodial, maintenance workers at TMU striking over pension contribution increase 3. Half of Canadian benefits providers […]
As the Canadian government develops its legislation to permit employee ownership trusts, the fact that the proposed model doesn’t include incentives is a big blow to companies considering the option, according to one expert. “I would have had a different answer for you prior to the [2023] budget,” says Jon Shell, managing partner at Toronto-based Social […]