Month: January 2026

As employers prepare T4’s, they can make like a bit easier for staff.  By reporting the employees contributions to the health and dental premium (NOT life or LTD premium) in Box 85, you are helping staff make sure they get the medical Expense Tax Credit (METC) where available. 

By reporting the employee share in Box 85 on T4’s, you avoid employees being audited for proof of contributions (and you having to write out letters for them). 

You can find more about the history of box 85 and it’s intent here… https://www.canadianmoneysaver.ca/blog/box-85-is-my-box

The CRA info is below, or ask your accountant.  https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/payroll/benefits-allowances/private-health-services-plan-premiums.html

Mainstay shares our clients average renewal increases on our website and has done so since 2006.  We also share the biggest increases and decreases in our April Newsletter each year. This information helps you to understand how your plan fits in relation to others.  Our average bottom line rate increase  (including aging) has worked out to be ONLY 4% a a year for the past 20 years (NOT 7 or 8% as noted below).  When you remove the aging effect it’s closer to 2.5%,  so just ahead of inflation, and very sustainable. 

Please read the following article and take it with a grain of salt.  We manage plans to keep costs under controls and when there are issues like fraud, or high cost drugs, we jump on finding solutions to keep pricing fair.  We also use plan designs that minimize misuse and abuse (mandatory generic, caps and reasonable and customary limitations etc) to keep your plan healthy.

Aon’s 2026 Global Medical Trend Rates Report projects a 2026 medical trend of 8.3 percent for Canada, up from 7.4 percent in 2025, while general inflation edges up only slightly from 1.9 percent to 2.1 percent. That leaves a net medical trend of 6.2 percentage points above inflation in 2026. 

READ ARTICLE

Mainstay Insurance does NOT allow Sub-Contracted employees to be enrolled in our plan sponsor benefit plans.  There are a number of reasons for this rule.

1. Insurer contracts do not recognize “non-employees”.  As a result, a claim can be declined and the contract invalidated, leaving the employer at great risk
2. CRA has several tests they use to determine what an employee “is”.  A wrong determination can cost both parties in withholdings and back taxes as well as penalties 
3. The risk of being deemed a Personal Service Business (PSB) is one that no one should take lightly.

The article below provides a great explanation of the ins and outs of using contracts.

Employee vs Contractor Rules in Canada: What CRA Actually Looks At

If you’re a Canadian small business owner, hiring a “contractor” can feel like the easy button: pay an invoice, skip payroll, and move on. But CRA doesn’t assess employee vs contractor status based on what you call it.

CRA looks at the real working relationship – what happens day to day – and then decides whether it’s employment (an employee) or a business relationship (a contractor/self-employed).

READ ARTICLE HERE

This article is broad education (not legal advice) to help you understand the CRA framework so you can make better hiring decisions.

Each year the Ontario Dental Association (ODA) adjusts the fee guide that most dentists base their charges on (not dentists or specialists – which are separate).  These suggested increases in cost are an average of services provided and take into account changes in overhead, labour and materials. 

On top of this “inflation” portion of costs, insurers also add trend and utilization to create the actual increases you see on your renewal. The projection for future costs (in the coming year) are made up of…

1.  Inflation – the ODA fee guide adjustment (how much the cost to deliver treatment is increasing)
2. Trend – this is how we use more of services over time (e.g.our grandparents went as needed, our parents once a year, we go every 6 months, our kids might go every quarter)
3. Utilization – this is how we use more of the services (e.g. we used to use a unit of scaling (15 minutes) every 6 months, but now use 2 or 3)

Of course the claims by your organization also have an effect on rates and usage that is higher then the norm will increase costs more quickly. 

From the ODA:  2026 Suggested Fee Guide for General PractitionersFor 2026

The overall weighted average change based on the frequency of procedures occurring in the average Ontario general-dental practice is 3.32 per cent. Changes are based on a weighted average based on the frequency of procedures occurring in the average Ontario general dental practice.

I founded Canadian Group Insurance Brokers (CGIB) as an association dedicated to educating employee benefit advisors, across the country.  Along the way the group has grown to include insurers, TPA’s, and other providers in the group insurance space.  Since 2009 we have produced over 70 educational events with hundreds of speakers, ranging in size from workshops of 40 to seminars with over 350 in attendance, all garnering rave reviews.

Many employers have indicated an interest in attending these full-day educational events.  The feedback from clients is that they love to be the “fly on the wall” at the event and hear what only advisors would generally get to hear. Would you like to be that fly?

Our next seminar is on Wednesday April 1st, 2026 in Vaughan (near Hwy’s 407 and 400) and the details are here… https://cgib.glueup.com/event/cgib-april-1st-2026-managing-high-cost-drugs-toronto-152603/

If you are an existing, past or prospective client and are interested in attending, please drop me an e-mail and I’ll book you a spot (at my cost).

There have been a lot of legislative changes for Ontario employers.  The article below summarizes those changes for 2025 and the new ones starting in 2026 .  Please check to see what applies to your and tour firm.

The Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 has updates in;  New Long-Term Illness Leave, Employment Information for New Hires, Information to be Provided in Group Terminations, Digital Platform Worker Protections in Force, Extended Temporary Lay-Offs, Job Seeking Leave for Group Terminations, Fraud Prevention in Job Postings and Pay Transparency.

The Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act and Workplace Safety and Insurance Act has updates that include; Washrooms, Protection for Remote Workers, Reimbursement for Defibrillator, Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMPs), and Enhanced Enforcement and Increased Penalties under the WSIA.

Other provinces also have changes if you have employees living and working i n those provinces.

Ontario employers continue to navigate sweeping reforms under the various Working for Workers acts, including preparing for the new pay transparency rules coming into force on January 1, 2026.

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