It’s been almost 13 months (and counting) since the coronavirus pandemic sent millions of Canadians home to work for what was supposed to be the short term. With no end in sight to the new remote-working setting, many white-collar employees have settled into the virtual office environment and are proving they’re just as productive, if […]
Many white-collar employees were forced to work from home when a global coronavirus pandemic was declared last March, but now, with an eye toward the great reset, employers must decide whether to embrace working from home permanently or revert back to an in-person working model. Most employees’ sentiments have shifted toward a preference for continuing […]
Private drug plan spending increased 5.4 per cent, according to Express Scripts Canada’s annual drug trends report. While up to a one per cent increase in private drug plan spending was anticipated, similar to the 0.6 per cent increase between 2018 to 2019; the report showed a decrease in the percentage of members who claimed, […]
The federal government should embrace “aggressive incrementalism” on their promised path toward a national childcare system and quickly build on what’s already there rather than push wholesale change, according to a new report by the C.D. Howe Institute. The report suggests that trying to revamp how childcare is delivered in Canada by moving responsibility to […]
The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan ended 2020 with a funded status of 119 per cent and posted a return of 11.42 per cent over the course of the year, according to a press release. That figure was lower than the 17.14 per cent return delivered in 2019, but Jeff Wendling, the plan’s president and chief […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is reporting a total-fund net return of 8.6 per cent for 2020, a year which has generated mixed financial results for Canada’s major pensions due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The pension plan earned $18 billion in investment income in 2020 and its net assets reached $221.2 billion as at Dec. 31, 2020, […]
When Dialogue Health Technologies Inc. made its Toronto Stock Exchange debut this week, there was no traditional market opening with staff packing a room cheering and hugging amid a shower of confetti. The Montreal telemedicine company’s first day of trading was instead marked with a pre-recorded video of workers applauding from their home — a subdued […]
A majority (58 per cent) of Canadian employees surveyed would like a hybrid-work arrangement that gives them the option to work from home or at the office once the pandemic ends, according to a poll by Citrix Systems Inc. Working from home has taken a toll on some Canadians, as many struggle to maintain work-life balance […]
On the heels of the World Health Organization declaring the novel coronavirus a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, Canada’s federal government rolled out several programs to support employers and employees through this once-in-a-century crisis. Almost three weeks after the pandemic declaration by the WHO the federal government introduced the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy on […]
As the world and Canada enters year two of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s continuing to have an uneven impact on Canadians’ finances, according to a new poll by the Angus Reid Institute. The poll found 34 per cent of Canadians were worse off now than they were 12 months ago, with 45 per cent of […]