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Editorial: Deciphering the data

I’m sitting down to write this on the hottest day so far in 2023. Environment Canada has issued a multi-day heat warning in my region…

Head to head: Should employers be focusing more on employee output or working hours?

As the 9-to-5 workday becomes more flexible, a chief executive officer discusses why she puts more emphasis on employee output and a human resources professor…

How BMO’s navigation guides are supporting employee well-being

Navigating the care path for health-care issues can be overwhelming and confusing — so much so, it can act as a deterrent to people seeking…

2023 Consultants Report: How are consultants helping plan sponsors make the most of their benefits, retirement data?

In 2022, Xero sent out a global survey to all of its employees asking them to rank the most important components of its total rewards…

2023 CAP Member Survey: How CAPs are evolving to address changing financial priorities

With Canadians’ financial priorities shifting alongside a turbulent economic climate, including inflation levels not seen in decades and a never-ending rise in the cost of…

How climate change and inflation are impacting agricultural investments

Despite the prevalence of farming in its home province, the Alberta Investment Management Corp.’s agricultural portfolio is just 13 years old, the product of a…

Benefits for pet owners evolving through paid leave, wellness accounts

Though still a fairly new concept, pet benefits are becoming a more common consideration when employers are expanding their offerings and looking to stand out.…

Pulling Simon Fraser University’s endowment funds back from the brink

Jacky Shen suspects he was the oldest intern Simon Fraser University’s treasury department ever had. It was 2007, he was in his early 40s, had…

Q&A with Great Canadian Entertainment’s Mikkaela Fernandez

The gaming and entertainment company’s new manager of benefits, retirement and wellness discusses improving benefits communication, transferring total rewards skills and her favourite Peloton workouts.…

Editorial: Speaking up on DEI must go beyond policies and programs

As employers continue to ramp up their focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, Benefits Canada is returning with its sophomore DEI issue. In my editorial…

Head to head: Should employers speak out on diversity issues?

While many organizations are joining the conversation around diversity, equity and inclusion, it’s about more than just saying the right things and having the right…

How employers are using data to integrate DEI into their benefits plans

Like other large employers, Ontario Power Generation Inc. has a diverse workforce that embodies the broader Canadian population across multiple demographics. The Crown corporation uses…

2023 Top 100 Pension Funds Report: How to improve retirement outcomes across diverse plan member groups

At the beginning of April, the OPSEU Pension Trust made a change to a definition in its plan text that will have meaningful implications for…

A look at Accenture’s pioneering gender affirmation coverage, DEI evolution

After leading the way in supporting transgender employees, Accenture is continuing to expand its diversity, equity and inclusion offerings to meet workers’ evolving needs. In…

Are institutional investors meeting diversity targets set for investee companies?

Considering women account for just over half of the population, Andrew MacDougall understands why — taken in isolation — the state of female representation at…

How to build an employee resource group

Employee resource groups have been a part of many organizations for several years, are usually created and operated by employees and evolve and grow over…

Back to basics on menopause support

It has been called “the change.” Menopause. That time, occurring roughly between the ages of 45 and 55, when a female’s reproductive life ends and…

Leveraging the long-term perspective at Rexel North America

The current economic maelstrom, with its high inflation and interest rates, has left many institutional investors operating in uncharted territory — though not Rashid Maqsood,…

Q&A with LCBO’s Lilian Riad-Allen

The crown corporation’s senior director of workplace health, safety and wellness discusses leaning into prevention, mental-health leadership training and reconnecting with nature. Q: What new…

Editorial: Fulsome total rewards package imperative in challenging labour market

There’s never a drought of challenges for employers and 2023 is proving no different. Today, they’re facing inflation, labour shortages, competition for hiring, high turnover…

Head to head: In a challenging labour market, are employees staying with their employers or moving on?

As Canadians deal with an uncertain labour market, a public relations professional, who sought out a new job, and a marketing professional, who stayed with…

How Fluor Canada’s financial literacy programs are meeting the needs of its diverse workforce

Financial education programs can be humdrum at times, bringing to mind the iconic sleepy classroom scene in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. With that…

EAPs increasing virtual delivery, taking proactive approach to meet employees’ shifting needs 

Once rooted in mental-health support, employee assistance programs have evolved exponentially in recent years to meet the changing needs of employees. During the coronavirus pandemic,…

2023 Top 40 Money Managers Report: Using tools, technology to improve asset allocation, risk management

Large and small, pension plan sponsors are adopting in-house tools, partnering with technology research institutes or relying on investment managers for technological support with asset…

Canada’s lasting influence on Arizona’s public sector pension investor

There’s something about the Arizona State Retirement System — a US$49.3-billion defined benefit-like hybrid pension plan for the state’s 600,000 current and former public sector…