Library workers in Mississauga, Ont. went on strike at midnight after pay and benefits negotiations with the city fell through over the weekend. The motion by members of CUPE Local 1989 resulted in the temporary shutdown of 18 public libraries. The union is dissatisfied with the city’s proposed 1.5 per cent wage increase after receiving […]
A freeze on postal services starting July 2 is nearing reality as Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers fail to agree on pension changes at the negotiating table. Canada Post is proposing to replace CUPW members’ defined benefit pension plan with a defined contribution plan, says Mike Palecek, national president of the […]
Britain’s majority vote to leave the European Union yesterday has left many global investors reeling this morning. The markets didn’t anticipate this and it was only in early June that people started waking up to fact that the referendum on June 23 would see a close vote, says Andrew Torres, managing partner and chief investment […]
Amid the worries about the financial impact of a potential British vote to leave the European Union on June 23, what would the effect be on institutional investors such as pension funds with investments there? “The initial reaction to this is bigger than the longer-term effect,” says Leo de Bever, former chief executive officer of the Alberta Investment Management Corp. […]
Sitting through an exit interview can be like meeting a partner you’re about to end a relationship with. It’s awkward but it’s necessary for closure. At best, exit interviews let staff share long-standing thoughts about the workplace and employers get a sense of what they can do to keep their employees. But will staff actually […]
The venture capital investment arm of OMERS is boosting its presence in the benefits industry through its latest investment in Canadian technology startup League as it looks to move into the group benefits space. “We’re big believers in the ability of League to become that true end-to-end digital health benefits platform,” says Sid Paquette, managing director […]
While divestment has been a buzzword as some investors look to make a social statement, the new frontier will instead be impact investing as responsible investing becomes more mainstream, according to a panel of experts at the Responsible Investment Association’s conference in Toronto this week. Investors are recognizing that pure divestment doesn’t fully solve the problem, said Trish Nixon, director of investments […]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has yet to fulfil his promise to extend parental leave to 18 months, but many Canadians are already thinking about how the federal government could fill the gaps in the current system. Under the Liberal plan, parents would have a year and a half to take unpaid parental leave but they wouldn’t see […]
An effort by the NDP to clamp down on exemptions from the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan went down to defeat yesterday as debate on the plan continued during hearings of the standing committee on social policy at Queen’s Park. Noting concerns about the lack of universality in the ORPP, NDP pensions critic Jennifer French put […]
While the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s modest 3.4 per cent investment return announced last week will have minimal short-term effects, its investment income will have significant ramifications in the future. “We treat annual returns to pension funds like we’ve gone to the track and are looking at a horse race,” says Malcolm Hamilton, a pension consultant […]