Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is converting its defined benefit pension plan to a jointly sponsored model, making it the first single-employer plan in Canada to make the change. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario approved the move on Dec. 5, 2019, and the conversion is expected to take place on July 1, 2020. […]
The City of Toronto has completed the transfer of its Metropolitan Toronto Pension Plan to the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System. The Metro plan was the last of the City’s four defined benefit plans to move to OMERS, following the Corporation of the City of York Employee Pension Plan, the Metropolitan Toronto Police Benefit Fund […]
Life expectancy at age 65 has marginally increased for Canadian men while remaining stable for Canadian women, according to new data from Statistics Canada. It found life expectancy for Canadian men at age 65 increased to 19.4 years in 2018, up from 19.3 in 2017. In comparison, for Canadian women at age 65, life expectancy […]
The union representing 3,700 public sector employees in Newfoundland and Labrador are rejecting a proposed collective agreement from the provincial government, saying it includes unacceptable pension concessions. While the deal would provide workers with a wage increase of two per cent annually for two years, the Canadian Union of Public Employees Newfoundland and Labrador — […]
Employees’ parental leave has “no measurable effect” on their company’s profits, output or survival, nor does it have a negative impact on the well-being of those employees’ colleagues, according to a study by the U.S.-based National Bureau of Economic Research. The paper, which looked at data from small firms in Denmark, compared organizations where female employees were […]
Defined contribution pension plans in Ontario can now offer variable benefits to their plan members. The provincial government passed a series of regulations under the Pension Benefits Act to allow the accounts, bringing it in line with every other jurisdiction in Canada except for New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador. “The important thing is that […]
In the past, Canadian investors may have seen emerging market indices as too heavy on materials and energy companies, which are also well-represented in North American indices and would over-expose them to those sectors. But in fact, technology and consumer themes are playing an increasing role in emerging markets, says Nicole Vettise, senior vice-president and institutional […]
The bleakness and winter chill coupled with post-holiday blues can make January a particularly challenging month. With that in mind, many Canadian employers are using the month to talk about mental health with their employees. Dalhousie University is focusing its workplace wellness strategy on mental health in January. Throughout the month, the university has been hosting […]
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has released a guide advising companies on how they can support employees facing mental-health challenges. The guide, which is based on a review of existing research on mental health in the workplace, offers five recommendations for Canadian employers: create a long-term mental-health strategy for the entire organization; implement […]
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is seeking feedback on its approach to monitoring single-employer defined benefit pension plans with benefits that could be at risk. The regulator said it will evaluate risks to pension benefits by their nature, size, complexity and potential impact on all plan stakeholders. It will focus its regulatory resources […]