Articles & Insights
Virtual Care: All in the Delivery
Virtual Care: All in the Delivery When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, virtual care was in its infancy. Then overnight it seemed that patients were connecting with their clinicians by phone, computer or SMS, not only for medical advice but also for prescriptions, referrals, lab work and diagnostic tests. Fast forward three years and virtual care…
Wherefore Pharmacare?
Wherefore Pharmacare? With less than four months to go for the federal government to table legislation to enact a national pharmacare program in Canada, the silence is deafening. And Benefits Alliance’s advocacy committee says it’s high time that employers with private drug plans raise their voices to be part of the conversation on what happens…
Summer 2023 Market Update
The summer began on an optimistic note for stock markets, with the S&P 500 closing the first half of this year with a gain of more than 20% since its October 2022 low. As a result, many believe that this was the start of a new bull market cycle. However, in my opinion, I don’t…
Investment Income & Income Tax
Interest income refers to the compensation an individual receives from making funds available to another party. Interest income is typically earned on fixed income securities, such as bonds and Guaranteed Income Certificates (GICs)…
Spring 2023 Market Update
Special Update – What happened to Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)? In its most simplified form, a bank’s activities traditionally boil down to taking deposits (a short-term liability for the bank) and making loans (a long-term asset). To ensure its sustainability, the financial institution must therefore ensure that it maintains sufficient high-quality liquid assets to meet…
Winter 2022 Market Update
Since our update in September, we have seen a considerable rebound in most markets, with the Canadian and U.S. indices up over 5% in November…
EI Update: What you need to know
As of December 18, 2022, employees can collect sickness benefits from Canada’s Employment Insurance (EI) plan for an additional 11 weeks, bringing the total period of coverage to 26 weeks (up from 15 weeks). That sounds like good news for both employees and employers—but is it? As is often the case when there is change,…
The Art & Science of Group Retirement Programs
What do Van Gogh and retirement savings plans have in common? Not so much on the surface, perhaps, but painting is a useful analogy to demystify the seemingly complicated options for employer retirement programs. “For an artist, the colour palette of paint in essence hasn’t changed for hundreds of years, yet every painting is different.…
Canada’s Two Dental Programs: Get the Facts
The federal government has formally begun the process of creating the Canadian Dental Care Program (CDCP) by 2025; however, it’s not to be confused with the Canada Dental Benefit (CDB) that took effect on December 1, 2022. “We have an interim measure right now for children up to age 12. But it’s not really a…
Bring your A-Game to Recruiting
Imagine your workforce is like a hockey team vying for the “Stanley Cup” in terms of performance and profitability. But you don’t have enough top players to make up even one of your four lines of play. The vision of a championship quickly becomes a pipe dream—yet that’s the reality for most employers today. Employees…