Bell Canada’s defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans are both overseen by the same pension committee. The meeting cadences differ, but the committee leans on its DB knowledge to make sure it’s addressing similar risks in the DC plan, says Robert Marchessault, the organization’s director of pensions and benefits. For the DB plan, which […]
The British Columbia Supreme Court has ruled employers don’t necessarily have an unfettered right to dictate the terms of a repurchase of shares held by former employees under a stock option plan. “The message is that even when discretion is granted under the terms of a plan, that discretion is not necessarily unlimited, and it’s […]
In stock ownership, Scotiabank employees have the combined heft of a large institutional investor: more than 30,000 active members in the bank’s employee share ownership plan own 20 million shares between them — or about 1.5 per cent of the institution’s total outstanding shares. “It’s a flagship benefit we have here,” says Simon Cabral, the […]
In a recent case, the Supreme Court of Canada is being asked to consider a question that has long divided courts and vexed employers: are agreements that forfeit employees’ unvested equity-based compensation on termination enforceable, even if the vesting is scheduled to occur during the reasonable notice period? “The issue is an important one because […]
A new federal tax exemption for employee ownership trusts could spur retiring business owners to sell their companies to workers, says Jon Shell, managing director of Social Capital Partners. The federal government’s 2023 budget introduced tax rules to facilitate the creation of EOTs, but the legislation was criticized by experts for its lack of incentives […]
Lululemon Athletica Inc.’s extensive financial wellness offerings led to a win at Benefits Canada‘s 2023 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 20. The apparel company won in the Financial wellness category for its Fund Your Future program, which offers financial benefits and resources to support employees in making informed decisions no matter where they are in their financial journey. […]
Canadian employers should consider the pros and cons of employee share ownership plans on both sides of the border. Loren Rodgers, executive director of the National Center for Employee Ownership (pictured left) Canada should maintain the current paths by which companies are creating employee ownership, but it should also create a new vehicle that draws […]
As Canadian employees face rising inflation and interest rates, C.F. Crozier & Associates Inc. is helping ease employees’ financial worries by offering benefits that appeal to staff at every stage of their lives. The time employees spend at work is just one stop along their personal and professional growth journey, says Nick Mocan, president of Crozier. […]
A Federal Court of Appeal ruling will make it very difficult for executives and employees to treat share transfers from their companies as capital gains rather than income. The decision involved Kitchener, Ont.-based D2L Corp., whose intention was to distribute appreciated shares of the company, held in a trust, to various employees. In turn, the […]
Canada’s new employee stock option tax rules are raising a number of questions for employers, says David Crawford, a partner at Hugessen Consulting Inc. The new rules — part of the 2021 federal budget signed into law on June 29 — include an annual limit of $200,000 that will apply on stock option grants that […]