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.

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

READ ARTICLE

This article is written by a law firm with employees as the intended audience, but it’s applicable to employers and a good reminder of the issues and challenges employers face…

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If you work in Ontario, you have more legal protections than you might realize. The Employment Standards Act, the Human Rights Code and health and safety laws influence everything from your pay and hours of work to harassment, discrimination and termination. Recent Working for Workers changes and new rules on pay transparency and artificial intelligence in hiring are also reshaping the landscape for 2025 and 2026.

This guide highlights 12 key employee rights in Ontario in clear, practical language. It is intended as general information only. If anything here sounds familiar, it may be time to speak with an employment lawyer at Unified LLP about your specific situation.

READ ARTICLE

If you have employees in Ontario  or any other provinces, here are some of the recent changes to Employment Standards  that may affect you and your employees.

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Across Canada various jurisdictions are reviewing their statutory leaves and proposing/implementing new ones. Here are a few that you should be aware of:

British Columbia

As of November 28, 2025, the Employment Standards Acthas been updated to include a new job protected medical leave that allows employees to take up to 27 weeks (in a 12-month period) for “serious personal injury or illness”. Unlike with sick days, this medical leave does allow employers to request a medical certificate from a designated health professional confirming the employee is unable to work, the date the leave begins and the expected return‑to‑work date.

Saskatchewan

As of January 1, 2026, the following leaves will be updated/implemented in the Saskatchewan Employment Standards Act:

• Sick Leave: Long-term sick leave is extended from 12 to 27 weeks to support employees dealing with “prolonged illness or injury”.
• Bereavement Leave: Eligibility for employees would be expanded to allow use of the current five unpaid days to be used within six months of a death, and with extended eligibility to “like family” relationships and for a pregnancy loss.
• Maternity Leave: Eligibility for employees would be expanded to include employees who experience pregnancy loss within twenty (20) weeks of their due date.
• Interpersonal or Sexual Violence Leave: Employees will be eligible to receive additional time off if they are a victim of interpersonal or sexual violence. In addition to the existing 10 day leave (five days paid and five days unpaid), employees will be eligible to up to 16 weeks unpaid leave (to be taken in one continuous period within 52-weeks).

Ontario

As of November 27, 2025, the Employment Standards Act has been updated to include a new “job seeking leave” for employees that are part of a mass layoff to take up to 3 days of unpaid leave during the notice period for job searches, interviews, and training.

Federal

As of December 12, 2025, federally regulated workers have access to the following updated/implemented job protected leaves:

• Pregnancy Loss Leave: Employees will have access to up to eight weeks of unpaid leave following a pregnancy loss as defined. The first three days of the leave would be paid for employees that have three months of employment.
• Bereavement Leave: Employees will have access to an additional eight weeks of unpaid leave following the the death of their child or the child of their spouse or common-law partner.
• Placement of Child Leave: Employees will have access to 16 weeks of unpaid leave following the the placement of a child into their care through adoption or surrogacy.

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If you are is looking for a good event to keep you up to date on HR issues… George has spoken at our CGIB events in the past, and he and his team are generally quite good.

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Join us for our annual “Year in Review” webinar, where we’ll unpack the most significant labour and employment law developments from 2025 and discuss what we expect to see in 2026.

Topics will include:
• Legislative Updates: Federal and provincial changes affecting employment standards, workplace safety, leaves of absence, and more
• Caselaw Highlights: Notable decisions from courts and tribunals shaping employer obligations and employee rights
• Practical Implications: What these developments mean for your policies, practices, and risk management

This webinar is designed so that business leaders, human resources professionals, and in-house counsel can stay current on legislative changes, key decisions, and emerging trends that impact workplace compliance and strategy.

Monday, December 15, 2025
Start Time:
9:00 a.m. PT | 10:00 a.m. MT | 11:00 a.m. CT | 12:00 p.m. ET

Duration: 60 Minutes
Register Now

Speakers
Gerald Griffiths, Partner
Nikki Banwait, Associate

Professional Development & Continuing Education
This program is eligible for one hour of recertification credit with the Human Resources Professionals Association.

Ontario legislation is changing and requiring employers with over 25 staff to be more transparent in their job postings.  The article below helps to explain who is affected and what you’re going to need to do.

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Effective January 1, 2026, new rules related to job postings and the hiring process will take effect in Ontario. 
 
Please note these new rules do not apply to an employer that employs fewer than 25 employees on the day the publicly advertised job posting is posted.
 
The Ontario Employment Standards Act defines a “Publicly advertised job posting” as an external job posting that an employer or a person acting on behalf of an employer advertises to the general public in any manner.

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