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Employees at Ontario steelmaker gain benefits improvements with new contract

Employees at steelmaker Ivaco Rolling Mills Ltd. in L’Orignal. Ont. have ratified new collective agreements that include improvements to their wages and benefits. About 400 employees who are members of United Steelworkers locals 7940 and 8794 voted this week to ratify five-year collective agreements. The new contracts include improvements to benefits, including long-term disability, vision […]

  • January 14, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 15:15

Many Canadians planning to switch jobs for better benefits: survey

Canadians on the hunt for a new job want improved benefits and better control over their schedule, according to a new survey by Indeed. The survey, which polled more than 1,000 full-time employees, found 32 per cent said they plan to change jobs within the next one to two years. A quarter said they’ve been actively recruited by another […]

  • January 14, 2020 February 23, 2021
  • 15:00

Morneau Shepell to test meditation headband in employee wellness programs

Morneau Shepell Ltd. is teaming up with Interaxon Inc. to test meditation-aid technology for use in workplace well-being programs. Interaxon makes the Muse meditation headband, a research-grade electroencephalography device that aims to help in the meditation process by providing visual and auditory feedback relating to the user’s brain activity. The feedback is an attempt to encourage mental behaviours associated […]

  • January 13, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 15:00

CPPIB investing in Canadian precision oncology company

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is investing US$20 million in Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Hamilton, Ont.-based precision oncology company. The funds will go towards expanding the use of the company’s radiopharmaceutical platform, which attaches medical isotopes to targeting molecules to kill solid tumour cells. Read: CPPIB, BCI taking stakes in separate health-care technology companies “CPPIB’s investment reflects […]

  • January 13, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 15:00

Proposed Alberta Pension Plan has underwriting, political risks: report

A potential Alberta Pension Plan would expose Albertans to material underwriting risks and the potential for political involvement in decisions about the plan’s investment policy, according to a new report. The report — authored by Keith Ambachtscheer, founder of KPA Advisory Services Ltd. and adjunct professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management — also estimated […]

  • January 13, 2020 November 30, 2020
  • 09:15

Fees, member communications top priorities for U.S. DC plans in 2020: survey

For the fourth consecutive year, reviewing fees is the most important step defined contribution plan sponsors are taking to improve their fiduciary positions, with fees identified as the main priority for 2020, according to a new survey by U.S.-based investment consulting firm Callan. “With the amount of fee-related project work we see, it’s not surprising […]

  • January 10, 2020 November 30, 2020
  • 15:15

SC Insurance and RRJ Benefits form joint venture

Two group benefits firms in the Greater Toronto Area have joined forces to strengthen growth and innovation in the benefits and insurance industry. The new joint venture between Etobicoke, Ont.-based Steven Cohen Insurance Agency Inc. and North York, Ont.-based RRJ Insurance Group Ltd. took effect on Jan. 1. Plan sponsor clients will have access to […]

  • January 10, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 15:00

Fees, member communications top priorities for DC plans in 2020: survey

For the fourth consecutive year, reviewing fees is the most important step defined contribution plan sponsors are taking to improve their fiduciary positions, with fees identified as the main priority for 2020, according to a new survey by U.S.-based investment consulting firm Callan. “With the amount of fee-related project work we see, it’s not surprising […]

  • January 10, 2020 December 13, 2020
  • 14:00

A look at designing and implementing long-term pension investment mandates

With any pension investment, plan sponsors must follow the same steps: set a policy, select asset managers and ensure strong governance, monitoring and evaluation. Pension funds can take additional steps to better embed long-term principles throughout the entire investment cycle, according to a working paper by Alfred Slager, a professor of pension fund management at […]

  • January 10, 2020 December 13, 2020
  • 10:13

Canada’s gender wage gap worse when including certain demographic traits: report

Although Canada has a wide range of federal and provincial legislation intended to ensure Canadians can benefit from the labour market equally, gender wage gaps continue to persist along gender and race lines, according to a new report by the C.D. Howe Institute. In good news, the gender wage gap, on an hourly basis, is starting to […]

  • January 10, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 09:30