Author: Dave Patriarche

I know there has been an overwhelming amount of information on the impending legalization of Cannabis, but as I see interesting articles geared to employers I am going to pass them along in preparation for the October change in order to help you get prepared.

We held a seminar earlier this year and one of the handouts was a sample “Workplace Substance Management Policy” that may be helpful as you write your own policy.  If you are a Mainstay Client and have taken advantage of the FREE HR RESOURCES that we have made available, there is also an IMPAIRMENT & SUBSTANCE DEPENDENCY POLICY in the employee benefit booklet template.  if not

On June 20, 2018, the Government of Canada passed Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, which will, among other things, legalize the recreational use of cannabis. The Cannabis Act will come into force on October 17, 2018. Employers must be aware of the implications that the legalization of recreational cannabis may have on its workplace and be ready to act proactively.

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Each year we discuss cost trends of where our clients OVERALL premiums have been, and where we see them going.  In fact we share these in our April newsletter each year and include the averages on our website.  Our average unweighted increase over the past 15 years has been about 4.2% and that includes inflation, trends AND the aging of our groups.

We know that insurers use MUCH higher trend numbers for their calculations, but we work hard to ensure that your actual trends are better reflected the final rates you pay.

This article more accurately reflects what we are seeing and the lack of transparency mentioned, has never been a bigger challenge.

Between 2012 and 2016, Canada’s total private drug claims market increased by a 4.7 per cent compound annual growth rate, according to new research by Innovative Medicines Canada.

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The Trends in HR report from Morneau is out.  A short summary from Pension and Benefits Monitor
is included below as well as the full report.  This is a Canadian employer survey so can be seen as a rough benchmarking tool.

Employers in Canada are expecting salaries to rise by an average of 2.6 per cent in 2019, says Morneau Shepell’s annual survey of ‘Trends in Human Resources.’ This is consistent with the actual 2.6 per cent average increase in 2018. The national forecast for salary budget increases for 2019 includes expected salary freezes, with 4.6 per cent of respondents expecting a zero salary budget for 2019. “Employers remain relatively confident about compensation expectations in the coming year,” says Anand Parsan, its vice-president, compensation consulting. “Those expecting healthier financial performance in the coming year outpace those expecting worse performance by six to one. In the face of this optimism and a labour market with no slack, however, employers remain guarded about salary increases, perhaps reflecting anxiety over the possibility of more trade protectionism, rising interest rates, and a Canadian economy operating close to its capacity.” The expected 2.6 per cent increase is consistent with the current rate of inflation. In July, the Bank of Canada noted that consumer price index inflation is expected to rise to about 2.5 per cent, before settling back to two per cent by the second half of 2019.

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Please take a moment to register and sign in on this site.  The Federal government is looking for public feedback on their proposed national pharmacare plan.  This is an opportunity for the public, employers and all stakeholders to provide feedback, receive and respond to opinion polls and overall stay in touch with the process.

I think all Canadians should get involved and pay attention to this issue.

The Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare announced on July 20 the launch of the Council’s online consultation.

The Council, which was formally launched last month, is inviting Canadians to provide their views on national pharmacare through an online questionnaire, as well as by providing written submissions to the Council. The online consultations will close on Sept. 28.

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Just a quick read on probation periods for each province.  Most think it is always 3 months, but sometimes a day can make a difference….

In each Canadian jurisdiction, there are rules under employment standards legislation regarding the period of employment during which a non-unionized employee can be dismissed without cause and without notice or pay in lieu of notice. If the probationary period in an employment agreement allows for termination of employment on this basis, then the probationary period should be limited to the following statutory periods:

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I could not resist sharing this article.  So many find being on and around the water peaceful (me included) and a great reset to the hectic lives we all live.  If you don’t have a boat and want to se the positive effects of sailing, please join us  Summer Sailing with Mainstay

Recent research shows people experience emotional, behavioural and psychological benefits of being near, in, on or under water, and while participating in activities such as boating. One of the leading researchers on the health benefits of the water is Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, Ph.D, a marine biologist and author of Blue Mind, the bestselling book on the scientific connection between water and happiness.

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EI sick benefits are the one benefit that most of our clients rely on to support employees in the period before Long Term Disability (LTD) begins.  This is an area that the government has not materially changed in almost 50 years and we see no indication that they are looking at making changes.  Few employers having formal salary continuance programs or insured Short Term Disability (STD) coverage, so this is an area where any change could have a real effect on employers.  We’ll continue to monitor the area for changes, as the usage (and government costs increase)…

More and more Canadians are applying for federal help as they take time away from work to battle serious illness — and almost four out of every 10 applicants are maxing out their benefits.

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Over the weekend we had a very big announcement that may affect not just those in Ontario, but possibly the future of federal pharmacare as well.

The change to add OHIP+ , for youth under 25, were just implemented in January and was expected to result in about a 3-4% average savings for most group plans that had youth under 25 on their plans as drug claims would now be picked up by the province.

Now the new Ontario government has stated they will make OHIP+ the second payer after private plans.  This change means those costs will now revert back to the employers as they had in the past (prior to the January implementation).

Ontario’s new Conservative government has announced changes to the province’s youth pharmacare program to make it second payer for Ontarian’s under age 25 who have coverage through private benefits plans.

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