The situation for Canada’s pension industry looked fairly uncertain at the beginning of 2016. A significant portion of the industry was bracing for the implementation of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan. The markets were also looking uncertain. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s key index had been trending downwards for the latter half of 2015 and hit […]
It’s amazing how much we talk about the need to accommodate different needs by allowing people to work flexible hours and remotely but we still see so little in the way of concrete and clear action on the issue. As the federal government’s recent consultations on flexible work — and the potential need to put […]
The federal government is appealing a B.C. court ruling in a dispute over whether the British Columbia Investment Management Corp. (bcIMC) owes it more than $40 million in taxes in relation to its pooled investment portfolios. The appeal follows a Sept. 30 ruling from the the Supreme Court of British Columbia that dealt with bcIMC’s […]
Cancelling the increase to the age of eligibility for old-age security was certainly a popular move. The change, which quickly followed the Liberals’ election in 2015, reflected a pattern of reversing a number of policy changes implemented by the former Conservative government whose time had in fact come. Ending home mail delivery was another necessary […]
As a hospital, the IWK Health Centre in Halifax has a natural interest in promoting health and wellness. And in its case, many of the changes it makes to encourage healthy eating among patients also apply to its employees. “We want to make sure we’re living up to what we should do,” says Brenda MacDonald, […]
Despite all of the concern about the sustainability of drug plans, it seems rising claims for paramedical services such as massage therapy aren’t a big issue for many plan sponsors. This month’s cover story, “Unknotting the goals of massage therapy as an employee benefit,” delved into the question of what coverage should be about. Is […]
At the 2016 Healthy Outcomes conference in June, Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, medical director of the Bariatric Medical Institute in Ottawa, told an audience of plan sponsors about some of the myths around obesity. They include: 1. People can will themselves to lose weight. 2. People can lose more weight by eating less. “The body defends […]
Which type of pension plan is better: defined benefit or defined contribution? While the answer may seem obvious to some, the question was the subject of a debate at the recent Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute’s annual forum in Ottawa in May. Arguing in favour of defined benefit pension plans was Diane Oakley, executive director […]
As part of efforts to tap into digital health startups, Sun Life Financial Inc. has announced the formation of a new business area called digital health solutions. The idea, says Sun Life president Kevin Dougherty, is to curate “the best of the best” of emerging digital health products and services in order to connect plan […]
Despite contract language providing for post-retirement benefits, eight retirees of a Cornwall, Ont., manufacturing company are out of luck after an arbitrator ruled the company could terminate them. The Aug. 2 arbitration decision follows the April 2015 closure of Sensient Flavors Canada Inc.’s plant in Cornwall. By January 2016, the company had notified the United […]