Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is bringing out the big guns in his quest to establish a national securities regulator. Flaherty will be tabling legislation on Wednesday, both in Parliament and before the Supreme Court of Canada, in an effort to decide the constitutionality of a national regulator. Several provinces—including Alberta and Quebec—are challenging Ottawa’s […]
The Ontario government’s point-woman on pushing through controversial generic drug pricing reforms is stepping down, according to media reports. Helen Stevenson, assistant deputy minister and executive officer, Ontario Public Drug Programs, has indicated that she will be returning to the private sector. For the past three years Stevenson has guided Ontario Drug Benefit procurement policies […]
Despite their role as leaders and motivators, up to one-third of managers are not held accountable for engagement levels in their organizations, according to research from Right Management. In a poll of 357 senior HR professionals who were asked if leaders were accountable for employee engagement, 18% stated that they were consistently held accountable, 46% […]
The Ontario government’s efforts to reduce the price of generic drugs will not necessarily result in lower drug benefits plan costs, according to a Mercer communiqué. The price of generic drugs in Ontario currently ranges between 30% and 80% of the brand name drug price, with post-2006 generic drugs constituting the majority of the high […]
Defined contribution (DC) pension plans are shaping up to be the dominant form of retirement savings around the world, but the model’s vulnerability to episodes such as the recent financial crisis must be addressed by fiduciaries in order to restore the trust of plan members, according to a report. Towers Watson’s Journey well, arrive better […]
Bill 236, the Pension Benefits Amendment Act, 2010, received Royal Assent on May 18, 2010, and is important to all Ontario plan sponsors, according to an Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP blog. The bill is not yet in force, but of note to plan sponsors are Sections 23 and 24, which provide for immediate vesting […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) posted a 14.9% gain for fiscal 2009, adding $16.2 billion to the fund, its third-best gain in the past 10 years. However, returns were 5.9% below market performance. Debt instruments (excluding bonds) were the star asset class for the CPPIB, posting returns of 63%, followed by emerging markets […]
An open letter from a group of Canada’s leading pension organizations is calling on the country’s finance ministers to create a federal-provincial task force to identify possible solutions to Canada’s pension coverage challenges. Addressed to every finance minister in the country, the letter urges them to acknowledge that pension coverage and management cost problems are […]
Alberta and Quebec have joined forces in a broadside against the formation of a national securities regulator. In a blistering 44-page missive, Fraser Milner & Casgrain lawyer Pierre Lortie assails the federal government’s rationale for the necessity of a national regulator and questions the idea that such a body would be preferable to the patchwork […]
The Montreal Economic Institute is urging the provincial government to emulate Chile’s experience in pension reform instead of raising contributions to the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP). “The best way to guarantee the future of young Quebecers’ retirement savings while ensuring benefits for current retirees, as Chile has done, would be to give workers currently in […]