October 2021
21Oct

Canada. Uber drivers, gig workers pressure Ontario government for employee status

Tens of thousands of people in the province drive and deliver for apps such as Lyft, DoorDash People who drive and deliver for apps such as Uber and DoorDash are calling on the Ontario government to grant them the rights of employees. The province's minister of labour says new protections for gig workers are coming and says it's wrong for app-based workers to earn less than minimum wage. Industry sources tell CBC News they expect the Ford government will soon reveal...

October 21, 2021
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19Oct

Canada. Why more retirees are looking to green their retirement portfolios

Many greying Canadians are adding a green hue to their investment portfolios to make money, manage risk and leave a better world for their children and grandchildren. Responsible investing – which considers both financial returns and social/environmental good – has long been on the radar of baby boomers and Gen Xers, with ethical mutual funds being widely available since the 1990s. Still, it was often seen as a niche strategy that potentially added risk to an investment portfolio. Consequently, considering only...

October 19, 2021
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13Oct

Canada. Ontario Teachers’ Announces Agreement to Acquire Majority Stake in Vantage Elevator Solutions

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board ("Ontario Teachers'"), today announced an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Vantage Elevator Solutions ("Vantage"), a leading North American designer, manufacturer and distributor of elevator components and systems. As part of the transaction, Vantage's current owner, Golden Gate Capital, will retain a significant minority ownership stake in the company. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. Vantage is a leading North American elevator component manufacturer, providing a broad portfolio of parts and components...

October 13, 2021
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11Oct

Employers offering retirement benefits report greater productivity during COVID, cite reduced employee stress: New research from HOOPP and Maru/Matchbox

Employers that offer retirement savings benefits report higher levels of employee productivity over the past year and have greater optimism for the future, according to the Canadian Employer Pension Survey, a survey of 845 Canadian employers by HOOPP and Maru/Matchbox. In addition, employers that offer retirement savings benefits believe it is very important to recruitment, retention and helping employees manage stress. “The survey found that a majority of employers see a connection between reducing employees’ financial stress and productivity,” said Steven...

October 11, 2021
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September 2021
29Sep

Canada’s second-largest pension fund says first to exit oil assets

Canada’s No. 2 pension fund, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, said Tuesday it will shed all of its oil production assets, valued at C$3.9 billion ($3.08 billion), by the end of 2022 and reduce carbon intensity by 60% by 2030. It said it would be the first institutional investor in Canada to exit oil production assets. As part of a plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, Montreal-based Caisse plans to hold green assets worth C$54 billion by 2025...

September 29, 2021
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17Sep

Canada’s third-largest pension fund beefs ups plan to cut carbon emissions

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (OTPP), Canada’s third-largest pension fund, announced on Thursday new interim targets to cut the carbon emissions intensity of its portfolio as part of a plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. OTPP, which manages C$227.7 billion ($180.11 billion) in assets, plans to reduce emissions intensity by 45% by 2025 and 67% by 2030, from 2019 levels. Fellow pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec also has a net-zero target by 2050, but environmental campaigners...

September 17, 2021
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03Sep

Do Trade Unions Promote Age Diversity and Intergenerational Solidarity in the Workplace? A View from Canada and Israel

By Pnina Alon-Shenker, Lilach Lurie In this Article, the authors explore – through a survey of collective agreements, case law, unions’ constitutions and websites – how trade unions in Canada and Israel balance and effectively support the interests of older and young workers. While unions in both countries promote age diversity to some extent (Canadian unions more than Israeli unions), they do not take sufficient action to promote intergenerational solidarity and sometimes even inhibit solidarity between generations. The authors conclude...

September 3, 2021
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August 2021
27Aug

Canada. Union Files Legal Challenge Over OMERS’ Early Retirement Policy

A Canadian union has filed a legal challenge with Ontario’s independent pension regulator over the $82.4 billion Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS)’s policy for paramedic plan members’ access to early retirement options. According to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), OMERS has two classifications for its members: normal retirement age 65 (NRA 65) and normal retirement age 60 (NRA 60). NRA 65 members can retire with an unreduced pension at the age of 65 at the earliest, or...

August 27, 2021
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16Aug

3 Ugly Truths About Retirement in Canada

Saving for retirement has never been easy. In the days when private and public sector employers offered generous defined benefit (DB) pensions, that didn’t matter as much. But today, with private sector DB pensions all but extinct, you really have to save if you want to retire comfortably. If you’re a government worker with a very generous pension plan, then perhaps that doesn’t apply to you. But if you’re like most Canadians, you’re really going to need some savings to...

August 16, 2021
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July 2021
22Jul

Canada. 27% of homeowners planning to access pension early despite adequacy fears

Nearly a third (31 per cent) of homeowners over 40 plan to work beyond state pension age due to concerns over affordability and financial insecurity, whilst over a quarter (27 per cent) plan to access their pensions early, according to research from Canada Life. The survey found that many older savers had fears around funding their retirement, with close to a third (31 per cent) of homeowners over 40 who are currently working stating that they cannot afford to retire...

July 22, 2021
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