As Home Capital Group Inc. grapples with plunging share prices and large withdrawals in quick succession, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan has inserted itself into the uncertainty by offering financing to the beleaguered mortgage lender. But is the move a bad business decision by the pension plan? “Investing is a very complicated business, but I think […]
Ontario is introducing a pharmacare program for all residents aged 24 and under, Finance Minister Charles Sousa announced Thursday as he tabled the province’s 2017 budget. The new program will launch on Jan. 1, 2018, and will offer universal drug coverage for all medicines listed in the Ontario drug benefit formulary. There will be no copayment […]
As Ontarians wait to see what’s in the provincial budget today, the Ontario New Democratic Party is getting ahead of the debate with its promise to implement a universal pharmacare plan should it win next year’s election. The NDP hopes the plan will ”reduce drug costs faced by individuals, businesses, municipalities, and other private payers; and increase […]
If Canadian pharmacists played a larger role in dispensing flu shots, reviewing cardiovascular disease medication and providing help with smoking cessation, the health-care system could save between $2.5 billion and $25.7 billion over the next 20 years, according to a study from the Conference Board of Canada. Co-sponsored by the Canadian Pharmacists Association and the Canadian Alliance […]
How does a weeklong company trip to Mexico sound? While it’s a small organization, Splice Software Inc. sent its employees on a working holiday to Mexico this year as part of its efforts to make its 26 employees feel part of one team. Employees worked some of the time during the trip, but Splice also organized soccer games, a […]
Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont. has created a $55,000 fund to support postdoctoral scholars’ childcare responsibilities. Fellows are eligible to receive $2,000 per dependent child under age 12 per year to offset the cost of childcare. If the fund receives more claims than it can fund, each claim will be reimbursed on a prorated basis. There […]
Canadians aren’t getting enough sleep and their employers are feeling the pinch, participants at the Benefits and Pension Summit in Toronto heard today. “Sleep is not a luxury. It’s a necessity as vital as eating, drinking and exercising,” said Josée Dixon, executive vice-president of group and business insurance at Desjardins Insurance. Yet 75 per cent of Canadian […]
When employees are young and often working remotely, and when the wellness budget is non-existent, human resources managers have to be creative to ensure employees get a healthy balance at work. The vehicle history company Carproof, for example, began its wellness program in 2012 with a weight-loss contest, said Heather Coy-Robinson, the company’s human resources […]
Forget crystal balls, tarot cards and tea leaves. Fortune-telling has no place at a futurist’s desk. “We’re not in the business of predicting the future,” says Laura Schlehuber, a futurist and a manager at consulting firm Kalypso LP in Houston. “But we do like to question our assumptions and prepare for alternatives.” While organizations consult […]
Just 5.7 per cent of Canadians walked to work in 2011, down from 6.3 per cent in 2006, according to Statistics Canada. But even if employees live too far to commute by foot, employers can still create a walking-friendly culture. And today – Walk to Work Day – is a good time to start. Last […]