Certificate in Canadian Benefit Plans

This session provides a general overview of the Canadian business environment, including:

• Unique issues in the workforce— Demographics and culture
• The employment environment
• The Canadian labour market
• Canadian workforce challenges.

In this session, participants will gain insights into the recommended approaches that organizations and employers should consider when dealing with the changing realm of employee benefits. They will learn how to make well-informed choices, tailor their communications to suit the unique requirements of their workforce, and effectively optimize the value of their investments in the benefits offering.

This session highlights important employment standards provisions and key pieces of legislation that you need to know in order to conduct business in Canada.

• Minimum employment standards relating to exempt/nonexempt employees, hours of work, overtime, vacation and leaves of absence
• Best practices in recruiting and hiring
• Termination and employment entitlements including notice and severance
• Labour and collective bargaining.

Human rights legislation in Canada directly impacts organizations with Canadian employees.

• Recruitment and ongoing employment relationship
• Accommodation
• Protected status key issues including political affiliation, language, family status, disability and record of offences
• Key differences in human rights provisions in Canada and the U.S.

Learn more about the structure and principles of Canada’s health care system and how it compares to the system in the United States. Key differences are outlined, including a look at the private-public trajectory, access to health care and how employer-provided health care plans are harmonized with government programs in each country.

Learn from real-life examples how to manage benefits changes effectively, including getting buy-in and communicating with all stakeholders.

This session provides a deeper look at types of employer-sponsored pension plans offered in Canada and their regulatory framework across provincial jurisdictions. Test your knowledge about Canadian pensions. Hear about key legal decisions that have helped shape Canada’s pension environment. Learn more about what an employer operating in Canada can and cannot do.

Gain a practical overview of the Canadian retirement landscape.

• Government public programs, including the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security
• Private retirement plans, including employer-sponsored plans and individual retirement savings vehicles (e.g., RRSPs and TFSAs)
• Types of retirement plans, including defined contribution (DC), defined benefit (DB), target benefit, deferred profit-sharing and hybrid plans.

Get up to date quickly on:

• What a typical employer-sponsored
• Group benefit plan types, including flex plans and health care spending accounts
• The cost of basic life insurance, AD&D, extended health care and dental benefits
• Cost-containment and benefit management techniques
• How group benefits are priced and key underwriting principles
• Key benefits differences between Canada and the United States

Obtain an overview of the disability benefits landscape in Canada and the various programs and benefits available to employees.

• Income replacement programs
• Integration of public and private disability programs and benefits
• Group disability plans
• Cost drivers and cost containment.

The design and management of Canadian drug plans are unique because employers are only responsible for a portion of the overall health costs.

This session covers:

• Private market dynamics
• Private insurance coverage in Canada
• Drug plan designs and adjudication
• Future trends

This forum is an opportunity to ask about pension issues pertaining to your role as well as to ask about any health care topic or Canadian benefits matter pertinent to your workplace and/or role.

In the age of employee global mobility, transferring employees between Canada and the United States can occur frequently. Employee benefits are an important element in these transfers. Hear about the benefit considerations and policies that organizations often deal with when transferring employees.

• Global mobility trends
• Impact on benefits, pensions and executive compensation
• Permanent versus temporary transfers
• Treaty considerations
• Integrating employee benefit plans.

Benefits and compensation are a significant part of the total rewards offered to employees in Canada and the United States as a way to attract, motivate and retain talent. It’s important to know and understand how they are linked in the Canadian system and how organizations are using compensation to drive a high-performing work environment.

• Key determinants of compensation
• Trends in compensation design in Canada and the U.S.
• Pay and performance
• Fair pay and pay equity.

This case study involves an interactive group exercise in which participants are asked to assess the pension and benefit plan considerations of particular scenarios involving a Canadian company/subsidiary. Participants will be able to select the scenario most relevant to their real-world requirements. Each group will be asked to present what issues are most important and what should be reported to their corporate executive team, based on criteria outlined in their case study.