As Canada looks to legalize marijuana next year, many employers are still unsure about how to prepare for what happens when the legislation takes effect, according to a recent study by the Human Resources Professionals Association. In a recent survey of its members, it found 45 per cent of respondents don’t believe their workplace policies adequately address […]
Two groups that represent injured workers in Ontario and a former Ottawa employee have launched legal proceedings against the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board and the provincial government over the treatment of chronic mental stress claims. The application, filed by the Ontario Network of Injured Worker Groups, Injured Workers Consultants and Margery Wardle on June […]
As technology and heightened customer expectations spur demand for change in life and health benefits, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is aiming to be “proactive and lead the discussion” on significant issues facing the industry, according to its new president and chief executive officer. There are many questions about big data, says Stephen Frank, […]
Ontario will replace the temporary solvency funding exemption in place for specified multi-employer pension plans with a new target-benefit framework, the government announced Thursday. The interim exemption will extend to August 2018 as the government looks to introduce legislation in the fall and regulations next year. While Ontario’s new framework will permanently exempt collectively bargained […]
Goodbye casual Fridays. More companies with traditional dress codes are loosening their policies and allowing employees to dress as they please every day of the week. About three-quarters (74 per cent) of accounting and finance departments in Canada have a somewhat or very casual dress code, according to recent research by recruitment company Robert Half […]
Employers with staff in Saskatchewan will see their insurance premiums rise by six per cent this August due to a new tax introduced by the provincial government in its 2017/18 budget. The six per cent provincial sales tax will apply to all group benefits plans with life, accident and health insurance policies. “This new tax […]
Quebec’s long-awaited move to ask drug manufacturers to bid for exclusive supply contracts for generic prescription drugs should help private benefit plans, according to an expert on drug pricing. “I expect private plans to benefit [from this move],” says John-Paul Dowson, managing director at Roubaix Strategies Inc. That’s because, according to Dowson, Quebec law prevents selling drugs […]
Three to four years ago, institutional investors were showing strong interest in frontier markets as they sought opportunities for lower correlations with global markets. But then commodities took a downturn and investors quickly lost interest, says Kurt Reiman, chief investment strategist at BlackRock Asset Management Canada Ltd. “All it took was a couple of years […]
Forty years ago, insurance and trust companies dominated the pension investment industry. But by the early 1980s, the landscape began to change as boutique asset managers started to take a growing chunk of the business. Boutique managers were attractive to investors because they specialized in a type of asset or style of investing, says Zev […]
In 2013, McKesson Canada Corp. launched a wellness program in an effort to reduce benefits costs and expenses resulting from decreased productivity and engagement and increased turnover and absenteeism. In launching the program, which included mental-health training for managers, health risk assessments and biometrics screening, the company aimed for a 3.8 per cent return on […]