Latest news in Health benefits

Canada Life thanks staff with two paid days off, prepares for return to work

Canada Life thanks staff with two paid days off, prepares for return to work

As the Canada Life Assurance Co. prepares a phased approach for returning to the office, the insurer is thanking its more than 11,000 employees with…

  • By: Staff
  • June 15, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 15:15
Optima Global Health partnering with MindBeacon for online CBT

Optima Global Health partnering with MindBeacon for online CBT

Optima Global Health is partnering with MindBeacon to offer its online cognitive behavioural therapy service to plan sponsors. “Mental health is more important than ever…

  • By: Staff
  • June 15, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 15:00
Employee well-being growing area of post-pandemic focus for employers: survey

Employee well-being growing area of post-pandemic focus for employers: survey

While 72 per cent of Canadian employers said they’ll make minimal or no changes to their benefits coverage in 2021, 21 per cent are planning…

Desjardins partners with Obesity Canada to keep Canadians healthy

Desjardins partners with Obesity Canada to keep Canadians healthy

Desjardins Insurance is joining Obesity Canada’s partnership program, which leverages resources from Canadian organizations to fund obesity research, education and advocacy initiatives. Marc Bertossini, director…

  • By: Staff
  • June 12, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 15:00
Teladoc to provide telemedicine services to 350 First Nations, Inuit employers

Teladoc to provide telemedicine services to 350 First Nations, Inuit employers

Through a partnership with Johnston Group Inc., Teledoc Health Inc. is offering its telemedicine services to 350 First Nations and Inuit employers to provide to their employees.…

  • By: Staff
  • June 10, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 15:00
Canadians cite 91% satisfaction rate with virtual health care

Canadians cite 91% satisfaction rate with virtual health care

Almost half of Canadians have now accessed a physician using virtual-care options and are highly satisfied with the results, according to a new survey by…

  • By: Staff
  • June 10, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 09:00
Global Montreal staff reject Corus’s final offer, citing pay, benefits, pension issues

Global Montreal staff reject Corus’s final offer, citing pay, benefits, pension issues

Global Montreal employees have overwhelmingly rejected a final offer from their employer Corus Entertainment to renew their collective agreement, over concerns around their pay, benefits and…

  • By: Staff
  • June 10, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 08:15

Half of Canadian employers have a policy to address benefits during disability: survey

Just half of Canadian employers said they’ve adopted a formal policy to clearly communicate their approach to disability benefits in the event of a conflict,…

  • By: Staff
  • June 9, 2020 November 24, 2020
  • 09:00
Green Shield Canada offering chronic pain management app to plan members

Green Shield Canada offering chronic pain management app to plan members

Green Shield Canada is partnering with ManagingLife Inc. to offer the software developer’s Manage My Pain app at no cost to benefits plan members for…

  • By: Staff
  • June 4, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 15:00

Financial wellness programs should stress capability, not just literacy: webinar

With many Canadians dealing with financial stress, employers are uniquely positioned to help, but their financial wellness programs must go beyond just literacy. “[Everyone] has heard the term…

Guardian Capital acquiring majority interest in U.S. investment manager

Hub acquiring Toronto- and Calgary-based benefits consultancies

Hub International Ltd. is acquiring Usefulideas, an employee benefits and group retirement consultancy based in Toronto. Joanne Rose, the organization’s principal and senior benefits consultant,…

  • By: Staff
  • June 3, 2020 February 23, 2021
  • 15:15
Webinar: Current health-care policies impacting private drug coverage

Webinar: Current health-care policies impacting private drug coverage

On May 12, Benefits Canada hosted a webinar to discuss the pharmaceutical industry’s efforts during the coronavirus crisis, as well as some key policy issues…

Employers encouraging, requiring staff to take vacation to avoid burnout: survey

Will this summer be prime vacation time for Canadians? While travel restrictions and social distancing protocols are still in effect, many employers are encouraging their staff…

  • By: Staff
  • June 2, 2020 September 1, 2022
  • 15:30
Changes to employment status, high-risk jobs affecting Canadians’ anxiety levels: survey

Changes to employment status, high-risk jobs affecting Canadians’ anxiety levels: survey

A quarter (26 per cent) of Canadians indicated moderate to severe anxiety levels, 23 per cent said they felt lonely occasionally or most of the…

  • By: Staff
  • June 2, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 15:15
MPAC supporting staff mental health during pandemic with leader chats

MPAC supporting staff mental health during pandemic with leader chats

The Municipal Property Assessment Corp. is hosting a series of virtual leader chats to help its employees manage the mental-health challenges of the coronavirus pandemic…

How to energize employees using virtual wellness

How to energize employees using virtual wellness

There’s no question that COVID-19 has disrupted usual work-life routines. The need to work from home, self-isolate and quarantine can have significant impacts on the…

PMPRB to publish new draft guidelines, open up final consultation

PMPRB to publish new draft guidelines, open up final consultation

The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board will publish a new draft of its guidelines on June 15, followed by a written consultation period for 30…

  • By: Staff
  • June 1, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 15:30
How will health practitioners reopening affect benefits plans?

How will health practitioners reopening affect benefits plans?

The Ontario government is giving health-care providers, including dentists, massage therapists, optometrists and psychologists, the green light to gradually reopen their practices. The order from the province’s chief…

Employees still in work with reduced salaries highest on mental-health index

Employees still in work with reduced salaries highest on mental-health index

While Morneau Shepell Ltd.’s latest mental-health index had the same score — a negative 12-point decline from the pre-coronavirus pandemic benchmark of 75 — as…

  • By: Staff
  • June 1, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 09:00
U.S. employers maintaining health benefits, considering other cost-cutting measures: survey

How the coronavirus pandemic’s new normal is shaping total rewards

In the group benefits world, the first rumblings of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic came when plan sponsors started asking, as early as January,…

Sun Life adding mental-health navigator for benefits plan members

Sun Life adding mental-health navigator for benefits plan members

Sun Life is making a mental-health navigator available to plan members, aiming to help them find support during the coronavirus pandemic. The navigator, provided by Teladoc…

  • By: Staff
  • May 28, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 09:00
Google to pay work-from-home allowance to all global employees

Google to pay work-from-home allowance to all global employees

With the expectation that most of its workers will be working from home for the rest of 2020, Google is giving all of its global…

  • By: Staff
  • May 27, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 15:15
Manulife giving 35,000 staff day off as thank you

Manulife giving 35,000 staff day off as thank you

Manulife Financial and its subsidiary John Hancock are giving their more than 35,000 employees a day off on Friday to say thank you for all…

  • By: Staff
  • May 27, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 15:00

Green Shield Canada investing in pharmacogenetics company

Green Shield Canada is investing in Canadian pharmacogenetics company GenXys Health Care Systems. The two companies will be collaborating on new pharmacogenetic products, which are…

  • By: Staff
  • May 26, 2020 November 24, 2020
  • 15:20

The benefits of routine in an unpredictable world

When it comes to living through any stressful and uncertain time, routine is one of the unsung heroes. In a situation like the current coronavirus…