B.C. finance minister Colin Hansen has identified a voluntary, supplemental pension plan based on the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) as the most likely option for pension reform. “The first priority for me is to get as broad a pan-Canadian plan as possible, and if we can achieve that with a supplemental plan, then great,” Hansen […]
Despite an increasingly educated and well-trained labour force, Canada’s productivity growth over the past 25 years has been sluggish due to a lack of investment in physical capital, according to a Conference Board of Canada report. “Canada’s slow productivity growth over the last 25 years cannot be attributed to its labour force,” says Alan Arcand, […]
Hedge fund managers—no strangers to upheaval since the outset of the global financial crisis—have a new reality to contend with, according to a recent survey. Far from shying away from the alternative asset class, many institutional investors are looking to increase allocations to hedge funds, but they are dictating the terms and demanding change as […]
B.C. Finance Minister Colin Hansen is refuting the findings of an influential report on Canada’s retirement system and is making fresh appeals for reform, reports the Canadian Press. Hansen released a previously confidential paper on Thursday which identifies two ideas as the most promising options, involving the creation of a voluntary supplemental tier to the […]
Employers are coming around to the idea of improved productivity through healthy employees healthy—so much so that it is emerging as the top business objective for employer-sponsored wellness programs around the world, according to a poll. Buck Consultants’ third annual Working Well: A Global Survey of Health Promotion and Workplace Wellness Strategies poll of more […]
Ottawa is playing host to Canada’s 18 federal unions for Tuesday and Wednesday as they draw out a battle plan for the expected showdown over public sector pensions. Recent reports about a belt-tightening 2010 budget, as well as comments by Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty during the December Ministers meeting in Whitehorse, have pushed the […]
Canadian employers and employees are not only growing reticent to bring up the “R” word, but expectations surrounding retirement are becoming increasingly murky, according to a survey. RBC’s latest poll of 1,457 Canadian adults found that while most employees would like to work past age 65, they are unsure about starting the conversation—putting the ball […]
Seniors advocacy group CARP has vowed to pursue a public campaign to hold the federal government’s feet to the fire by demanding a commitment to pension reform in the March throne speech. Aside from some technical changes to the Canada Pension Plan in May 2009, no action has been taken to address the need for […]
Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and his provincial counterparts have found an issue they can all agree on. There is no crisis in Canada’s retirement system. Media coverage had suggested the ministers’ meeting in Whitehorse on Friday was influenced by two reports with very different conclusions. An Ontario-commissioned report by pension consultant Bob Baldwin suggested […]
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is backing the idea of a supplementary government pension plan, saying Canadians are not saving enough for retirement. “We are calling on the government to make saving and full retirement easier and more secure for all Canadians,” Ignatieff told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday, Dec. 8. The proposed supplementary Canada pension […]