The federal budget has proposed the end of health and welfare trusts, suggesting either a conversion to employee life and health trusts or a windup by the end of 2020. While the government added rules in regards to employee life and health trusts to the Income Tax Act in 2010, the Canada Revenue Agency has been providing administrative positions about […]
In its 2018 budget on Tuesday, the federal government confirmed it would introduce a new five-week incentive for second parents to take parental leave. The use-it-or-lose-it employment insurance parental sharing benefit, which will take effect in June 2019, will be available to eligible two-parent families, including adoptive and same-sex couples, to take at any point following the arrival of […]
The 2018 budget has confirmed the federal government is creating an advisory council on the implementation of a national pharmacare program. Marc-André Gagnon, associate professor at Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration, believes the budget’s wording around implementation, rather than consultation, marks a real commitment to moving forward on this issue. “The advisory council is really […]
In the 2017 budget released last week, the federal government said it’s aiming to lower pharmaceutical prices and improve access to prescription medications through significant investments in a variety of health-care agencies. The government has committed $140.3 million over five years, starting in 2017-2018, to Health Canada, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board and the Canadian Agency for […]
In its 2017 budget last week, the federal government extended parental leave from 12 to 18 months. It’s a change that the Liberal government first teased in 2015 and has already ignited a great deal of discussion. Under the change, parents won’t be receiving additional earnings from employment insurance but can opt to receive benefits […]
Among the changes announced by the federal government in its budget yesterday is the cancellation of the Canada savings bond program, a savings vehicle many employers have long included as a payroll deduction option for their employees. The program, which dates back to 1946 and peaked in the late 1980s at nearly $55 billion of federal market debt, has […]
The federal government is moving ahead with extending employment insurance parental benefits to 18 months and is creating a new 15-week benefit for caregivers. According to Wednesday’s budget announcement, the changes to parental benefits would allow parents to choose to receive employment insurance parental benefits over an extended period of up to 18 months at a lower benefit […]
Government flat out declines Liberals' economic advisory council suggested age raise.
After outcry over possible changes to the taxation of stock options, the Liberal government has left the existing regime in place — at least for now. In the weeks leading up to the budget, Finance Minister Bill Morneau stated there would be a $100,000 cap on favourable tax treatment for stock options. He later said […]
In its first federal budget, presented on March 22, the Liberal government announced a range of developments that will affect employers and the pension and benefits industries. They include: The investment of more than $120 billion in infrastructure over the next decade. The government said it would also seek additional funding from Canada’s pension funds. Read more: Liberals to ‘engage public […]