The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that employers can’t rely on termination clauses when employees’ duties have escalated significantly after they signed their original employment contracts, including situations where the employee didn’t receive a promotion. In its ruling, the court relied on the changed substratum doctrine, which states termination clauses in a written employment […]
An article on how working mothers are struggling with work-life balance was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Majority of Canadian working moms struggling with work-life balance: survey 2. CPPIB jointly acquiring cloud-based software company, OMERS subsidiary entering debt financing agreements 3. How employers […]
Ontario-based pension plan sponsors can help reduce the number of missing plan members by examining their communications strategies and maintaining best practices in record keeping and data management, says Caroline Blouin, executive vice-president of pensions at the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario. “As an employer, there is an opportunity to provide some education and […]
A portable health benefits plan is a feasible, affordable and sustainable way to improve access to essential supplemental health and dental benefits for millions of Ontarians, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. It found the portable benefits plan would likely cost between $3.2 billion and $4.5 billion — excluding administration costs, […]
An article on how employers can close the pension gap among BIPOC employees was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Employers can leverage choice, education to help close pension gap among BIPOC workers 2. Ontario biosimilars policy could cut drug costs for plan […]
Ontario’s defined benefit pension funds returned an average 2.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022 while plan liabilities continued to benefit from a rising interest rate environment, according to the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario’s latest solvency report. It also found the majority of plans remained fully funded on a solvency basis […]
Changes to Ontario’s policy on the use of biosimilars in its public drug plan could result in savings for private benefits plans if they choose to follow the provincial model, says Theresa Tran, a principal in group benefits at Eckler Ltd. Starting March 31, Ontario Drug Benefit recipients who are on an originator biologic will […]
The Financial Services Tribunal of Ontario has awarded an employer with a $320,000 pension surplus, despite the plan’s trust agreements’ silence as to surplus entitlement. “The requirements for an employer to receive 100 per cent of surplus are strict, but the tribunal took a practical [approach] as opposed to a narrow interpretive approach to the […]
As Ontario eyes a new system of portable benefits for precarious workers, one expert says these benefits can be an important attraction and retention tool for employers, while another believes employee considerations should be prioritized amid the rise of the gig economy. Laura Williams, founder and managing partner, Williams HR Law LLP Like anything when […]
In its fall economic statement, the Ontario government said it will ask stakeholders to provide feedback this winter on a draft framework for target-benefit pension plans. “Implementation of a permanent target-benefit framework would pave the way for more employers to offer workplace pension plans, increasing the opportunities for workers to save for their retirement,” said the […]