Home Kelsey Rolfe

How can plan sponsors work out the kinks in paramedical coverage?

Historically, Epcor Utilities Inc. provided employees with $1,000 in annual coverage for each paramedical service, ranging from massage therapists, physiotherapists and chiropractors to speech therapists, naturopaths and dieticians. But in 2018, the Edmonton-based utilities company looked at its annual paramedical costs and found its massage therapy spend had ballooned to nearly match the cost of […]

  • February 14, 2020 September 19, 2023
  • 08:57

Q&A with CSA Group’s Melodie Mason

CSA Group’s vice-president of total rewards talks mental health, well-being programs and travelling with her family. Q. What top challenges do you face in your role? A. We’re in 13 countries and we have some global programs — our employee assistance program and business travel accident [insurance] — but then we also have to develop […]

  • February 14, 2020 March 4, 2021
  • 08:50

A look at the WSIB Employees’ Pension Plan’s conversion to a JSPP model

Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is converting its defined benefit pension plan to a jointly sponsored model, making it the first single-employer plan in Canada to make the change. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario approved the move on Dec. 5, 2019, and the conversion is expected to take place on July 1, 2020. […]

  • February 11, 2020 May 27, 2021
  • 09:30

City of Toronto completes final pension plan transfer to OMERS

The City of Toronto has completed the transfer of its Metropolitan Toronto Pension Plan to the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System. The Metro plan was the last of the City’s four defined benefit plans to move to OMERS, following the Corporation of the City of York Employee Pension Plan, the Metropolitan Toronto Police Benefit Fund […]

  • February 10, 2020 November 30, 2020
  • 09:15

Changes to Canadians’ life expectancy could have small effect on pension liabilities

Life expectancy at age 65 has marginally increased for Canadian men while remaining stable for Canadian women, according to new data from Statistics Canada. It found life expectancy for Canadian men at age 65 increased to 19.4 years in 2018, up from 19.3 in 2017. In comparison, for Canadian women at age 65, life expectancy […]

  • February 7, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 09:00

CUPE NL rejects proposed agreement over pension concessions

The union representing 3,700 public sector employees in Newfoundland and Labrador are rejecting a proposed collective agreement from the provincial government, saying it includes unacceptable pension concessions. While the deal would provide workers with a wage increase of two per cent annually for two years, the Canadian Union of Public Employees Newfoundland and Labrador — […]

  • February 3, 2020 November 30, 2020
  • 10:00

Employees’ parental leave has no effect on employer, colleagues: study

Employees’ parental leave has “no measurable effect” on their company’s profits, output or survival, nor does it have a negative impact on the well-being of those employees’ colleagues, according to a study by the U.S.-based National Bureau of Economic Research. The paper, which looked at data from small firms in Denmark, compared organizations where female employees were […]

  • January 30, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 09:15

Variable benefits in DC pension plans now allowed in Ontario

Defined contribution pension plans in Ontario can now offer variable benefits to their plan members. The provincial government passed a series of regulations under the Pension Benefits Act to allow the accounts, bringing it in line with every other jurisdiction in Canada except for New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador. “The important thing is that […]

  • January 28, 2020 July 12, 2021
  • 10:15

Technology, consumers driving emerging market equities

In the past, Canadian investors may have seen emerging market indices as too heavy on materials and energy companies, which are also well-represented in North American indices and would over-expose them to those sectors. But in fact, technology and consumer themes are playing an increasing role in emerging markets, says Nicole Vettise, senior vice-president and institutional […]

  • January 27, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 10:00

Dalhousie, Ryerson focusing on mental health in January

The bleakness and winter chill coupled with post-holiday blues can make January a particularly challenging month. With that in mind, many Canadian employers are using the month to talk about mental health with their employees. Dalhousie University is focusing its workplace wellness strategy on mental health in January. Throughout the month, the university has been hosting […]

  • January 27, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 09:40