The 2024 Canadian Legal and Legislative Update kicked off with a comprehensive cross-country benefits update delivered by Kiersten Amos, counsel at McInnes Cooper, and Michael Wolpert, partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin. These updates covered a range of legislation affecting benefit plans across Canada.

Legislation Update

One of the biggest legislative updates includes the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP). The CDCP will help ease financial barriers to accessing oral health care for eligible Canadian residents. The CDCP is expected to be rolled out according to the following timeline.

• January-March 2024: Individuals age 70 and older will receive a letter inviting them to apply. Canadians age 87 and older were invited to apply in December 2023.
• May 2024: The online application portal will open for individuals age 65 and older.
• June 2024: Starting June 27, persons with a valid Disability Tax Credit certificate and children under the age of 18 will be able to apply online.
• 2025: Remaining eligible Canadian residents will be able to apply online.

To be eligible for coverage under the CDCP, an individual must meet the following criteria:

• Have no access to dental insurance
  • Employers will be required to indicate on the employee’s T4 whether they receive dental benefits
• Have an adjusted family net income of less than $90,000
• Be a Canadian resident for tax purposes
• Have filed their tax return in the previous year.

Another significant legislative update includes the Pharmacare Act. The first reading of the Pharmacare Act happened on February 29, 2024. The act proposes the foundational principles for the first phase of a national universal pharmacare in Canada. The government of Canada intends to work with provinces and territories to provide universal, single-payer coverage for a number of contraception and diabetes medications.

The Pharmacare Act is proposed to have five fundamental principles of Medicare:

• Universal coverage: All residents of Canada should have equal access to a national pharmacare system.
• Comprehensive: The national pharmacare should provide a broad range of safe, effective, evidence-based treatments.
• Accessible: Access to prescription drugs should be based on medical need, not ability to pay.
• Portable: Pharmacare benefits should be portable across provinces and territories when individuals travel or move.
• Public: The national pharmacare system should be publicly funded and administered.

Recommendations for the coverage terms for the national pharmacare plan include the following.

• National pharmacare will provide flexibility for provinces and territories to offer coverage beyond the national pharmacare standards.
• Canadians can purchase private insurance to supplement coverage under national pharmacare.
• National pharmacare benefits will be portable across provinces and territories.
• A gender and equity lens will be applied throughout the implementation of national pharmacare.
• All Canadian residents will be eligible for national pharmacare to ensure everyone has access to the drugs they need to maintain their physical and mental health.
• National pharmacare will provide coverage for a national list of prescription drugs and related products (a national formulary) to ensure all Canadians have equal access to the medicines they need to maintain or improve their health.
• Out-of-pocket costs for all products listed on the national formulary will not exceed $5 per prescription, with a copayment of $2 for essential medicines and an annual maximum of $100 per household per year to ensure that patients face few barriers to access.
• People receiving social assistance, government disability benefits or the federal Guaranteed Income Supplement benefit will be exempt from copayments.

The third legislative update shared during the cross-country benefits update was the Canada Disability Benefit Act. This act comes into force in June 2024. It also creates the legal framework for a direct benefit for low-income, working-age persons with disabilities.

Kiersten and Michael also shared legislative updates affecting specific provinces.

• Manitoba—The Beneficiary Designation (Retirement, Savings and Other Plans) Amendment Act (Bill 19)
  • This act allows a plan participant’s legal representative to make a beneficiary designation for a plan participant in certain circumstances.
    
• Manitoba—The Employment Standards Code Amendment Act (Bill 9)
  • The first reading was March 7, 2024. This act increases the length of leave for serious injury or illness from 17 weeks to 27 weeks.
    
• Ontario—Government Consultation on Personal Long-Term Leave
  • Input was given on possible legislative amendments to the ESA, 2000.
  • The comment period closed on May 6, 2024.
  • The two proposed approaches include:
    • Expand the existing critical illness leave
    • Create a new long-term, job-protected leave.
      
• Nova Scotia—Patient Access to Care Act
  • This act received royal assent on April 12, 2023.
  • The purpose of this act is to improve patient access to care by further opening the Province to out-of-province health professionals, ensuring all health professionals can work to the full extent of their training, and continuing the reduction of administrative burdens in health care, including incenting companies to reduce their administrative demands on health professionals. This act also includes restrictions on employee sick note requests.
    
• Nova Scotia—Serious Illness Leave Act (Bill 416)
  • The first reading was February 28, 2024.
  • This act creates a 26-week unpaid leave (protected) for eligible employees.
    
• Prince Edward Island—Employment Standards Act
  • Amendments were passed on March 22, 2024.
  • The effective date is October 1, 2024.
  • Eligible employees are entitled to “up to” three paid sick days.
  • Entitlement is dependent on the length of continuous employment.

The session concluded with various regulatory updates and developments to watch.

• Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI)
  • The Integrity and Security Guideline was published on January 31, 2024. It sets expectations for financial institution integrity and security in multiple areas. Effective dates will be phased in.
    
• Northwest Territories
  • Effective April 1, 2024, changes in the new Extended Health Benefits Policy include:
    • Introduction of income assessment
    • Removal of specified disease condition
    • A suite of benefits for all residents.
  • These changes will have no impact on Canadians age 60 and older.
    
• Ontario—FRSA
  • The Information Technology (IT) Risk Management Guidance, effective April 1, 2024, defines “IT risk” and sets out seven practices for effective IT risk management:
    1. Governance
    2. Risk management
    3. Data management
    4. Outsourcing
    5. Incident preparedness
    6. Continuity and resiliency
    7. Notification of material IT risk incidents.

Regulatory Developments to Watch

• Risk Management and Cybersecurity
  • Consider MSH International’s recent cyber incident, which left Public Service Health Care Plan members posted abroad or traveling abroad unable to access services.
  • Review beneficiary designations (including electronic and substitute decision makers).

Want to learn more about various legislative updates? Join us at the 57th Annual Canadian Employee Benefits Conference or plan to attend the 2025 Canadian Legal and Legislative Update. Please visit www.ifebp.org for the full event schedule.