The government of Prince Edward Island reduced the union oversight committee of its Union of Public Sector Employees (PEIUPSE) pension fund to one member, down from three.Members of the PEIUPSE said it was meant to stop criticism over the CAD$1.2 billion pension plan’s decision to use public private partnerships to fund care homes for the […]
The decrease in defined benefit (DB) pension plans and the rise in defined contribution (DC) plans is creating increasing risk among employees regarding their retirement benefits. According to a recent Conference Board report, it’s unclear whether employer programs will be able to support employees in retirement.Executives who attended the conference indicated that as more companies […]
As the BlackBerry has become an extension of many people’s appendages (in October 2007, Research In Motion reported 10.5 million BlackBerry users worldwide at the end of the second quarter), it seems some employees just can’t turn off work! “For many people, work and life hasn’t really been balanced for a long time,” says Catherine […]
Globally, employers’ medical cost increases are expected to escalate over the next five years, according to a recent survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide. The consulting firm interviewed 85 insurance companies that provide medical insurance to employers in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America.Almost 71% of respondents expect higher or significantly higher medical cost […]
With U.S. corporate scandals endlessly making the news, the need for better governance is paramount. But how effective is corporate governance in Canada? Nine experts from various disciplines discussed their thoughts at a roundtable today in Toronto.Although the panel agreed that the area of corporate governance has progressed over the years, the consensus was that […]
With recent legislation in Ontario and Nova Scotia allowing dental hygienists to practise independently of dentists, what is the impact on employers, insurers and employees? Mountain View Dental Hygiene sits on a main thoroughfare in Black Diamond, Alta., a small town 30 minutes south of Calgary. The 600-square-foot clinic is painted taupe and has a […]
The financing for the takeover of BCE is proceeding as disclosed in regulatory filings, said Jim Leech, president and CEO of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, on Wednesday. “I look forward to the time when Bell is out of the eye of the media and can concentrate its resources and time on improving products and […]
Some of Canada’s most influential pension plans shared their views on the issues they’ll face this year at CPBI Ontario’s Pension Investment Forecast 2008 at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto today. Rodger F. Smith, managing director of Greenwich Associates, discussed a few key trends in the Canadian market. These trends are a reflection of […]
Employees might be at work, but might only be there in body—not in mind. Presenteeism (in which an employee shows up for work but is not working at full capacity) is a growing problem, according to the latest surveys from Watson Wyatt. The results of its 2007 Staying@Work: Effective Presence at Work survey found […]
In 1996, the Canada Pension Plan(CPP)took in $11 billion and paid out $17 billion. But today, those numbers aren’t as bleak thanks to the creation of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Gail Cook-Bennett, the board’s chair, said in Toronto on Monday. In a speech at the C.D. Howe Institute’s policy conference, The Canada […]