While Canadian employers have spent millions of dollars to address and support employee mental health during the coronavirus pandemic, the co-author of a new study says employee feedback is key to addressing gaps in the improvement of workplace psychological health and safety. “We’ve got random acts of wellness and we’re spending millions of dollars on […]
A story on a pilot benefits plan program that provides plan members with access to traditional Indigenous medicines and services was the most read article over the past week on BenefitsCanada.com. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. First Nations community providing Indigenous wellness benefits to plan members 2. Just 52% of Canadians […]
An agreement reached between the federal Liberals and New Democrats this week will prioritize work on a dental-care program, national pharmacare and paid leave. The deal will see the NDP support the Liberals on matters of confidence until 2025. The dental-care program and national pharmacare, which the NDP have long championed, had to get Liberal buy-in for the […]
Zillennial employees’ needs are going beyond traditional benefits to include a greater interest in an employer’s stance on environmental and ethical issues (45 per cent), as well as diversity, equity and inclusion (40 per cent), according to a new survey by MetLife Inc. The survey, which defined zillennials as a micro-generation born between 1993 and […]
Sagamok Anishnawbek, a First Nations community in northeastern Ontario, is participating in a pilot benefits plan program that provides plan members with access to traditional Indigenous medicines and services. Located along the north shore between Sudbury, Ont. and Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., the community’s employee base includes fire department workers, school teachers, community planners and […]
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and the union representing 3,000 conductors, engineers and train and yard workers say they have agreed to final and binding arbitration to end a work stoppage. Workers will return to the job at noon local time Tuesday. In a statement issued early Tuesday morning, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference spokesperson Dave Fulton […]
This month marks the second anniversary of the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, a 24-month span that has had profound effects on the health of benefits plan members and the status and structure of their plans. For drug plans in particular, several trends have come to light — or have accelerated — during the course […]
The British Columbia Municipal Pension Plan’s new Municipal Retiree Benefit Trust is joining the B.C. Investment Management Corp. The MRBT, which has $100 million in assets under management, is an employee life and health trust that provides group benefits to the MPP’s retirees and their spouses/dependants. It was recently created following a program review and redesign. […]
While just 12 per cent of Canadian office workers say working entirely at a physical workplace is their ideal scenario moving forward, 43 per cent say they’d be likely to look for a new job if their current employer mandated a full-time return to the office, according to a new survey by Amazon Business Canada. […]
Green Shield Holdings Inc. is acquiring specialty pharmacy NKS Health and digital pharmacy the Health Depot. NKS Health, which is focused on complex disease management, has four accredited pharmacies, 19 infusion clinics and a national network. The acquisition will provide Green Shield Canada with additional capability in managing drug costs for employers while enhancing patient health […]