Publications

Several companies in the private sector will soon finalize their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year and will be preparing their financial statements for the fiscal year that is drawing to a close. Among the disclosure notes that should be prepared for these financial statements is one which pertains to costs for defined benefit (DB) pension plans and group insurance plans offered to retirees (other post-employment benefits).

Bill 130, assented to by the Government of Quebec on December 13, 2005, amends various aspects of the Act respecting prescription drug insurance. Some amendments affect the administration of private group insurance plans. A few provisions came into effect on the date of assent or on specified dates in 2006, whereas others will take effect in 2007.
 

As in previous years, we are pleased to inform you about the parameters that will be used by the major social security programs in 2007.
 

The Act to amend the Supplemental Pension Plans Act (the "Act"), particularly with respect to the funding and administration of pension plans was assented to on Wednesday, December 13, 2006.
 

The Canadian government recently made the decision to amend the tax treatment of income trusts to close a breach that leads to the loss of significant tax revenue. Indeed, Canadian companies set up as income trusts do not currently pay corporate taxes. They rather hand out most of their income to unitholders, who then pay tax on these distributions. Combined with the tax exemptions granted to non-taxable investors, such as pension funds and RRSPs, these provisions provide governments with very little tax revenue from the income generated by income trusts, which results in annual losses of hundreds of millions of dollars in income tax collected.

During the summer, we conducted our annual survey of fees charged by health care professionals in Quebec. Since health care services provided by these specialists are generally covered by group insurance plans, we believe that the results of our survey will be of great interest to you. The average fees per visit could be useful in establishing the maximum amounts payable under your group insurance plans. Moreover, the average fee per visit increase compared to 2005 allows you to validate the inflation assumption used by your insurer in renewing your premium rates.
 

It is a known fact that the Canadian population, and thus the Canadian workforce, is aging. According to Statistics Canada's most recent projections, the average age of the Canadian population will increase by 3.4 years over the next 15 years, climbing from 38.8 in 2006 to 42.2 in 2021.
 

Lately, the Board of Directors of the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) announced the latest modifications to the Quebec Prescription Drug Insurance Plan effective on July 1, 2006.
 

The Canadian bond market has been evolving since the removal of the foreign content limit stated in the federal budget in early 2005. Maple bonds were a key element in this transformation. Named after the Canadian flag, Maple bonds are Canadian dollar-denominated bonds issued by foreign issuers. Issuers may be governments, corporations (primarily banks), sovereign issuers or supranational organizations.

A recent decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal has drawn attention to the possible risks associated with disability insurance coverage for an employer when he terminates an employee. The case involved the company Alcatel and a former employee (Egan) who was dismissed in July 2002.
 

Bill 30, an Act to amend the Supplemental Pension Plans Act (SPPA), particularly with respect to the funding and governance of pension plans, was finally tabled at the Quebec National Assembly on Wednesday, June 14 by Mrs Michelle Courchesne, the Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity and Minister responsible for the Régie des rentes du Québec. A public parliamentary hearing, most likely to take place this fall, should allow the various parties involved to put forward their point of view on the bill.

Critical illness insurance has been available on the Canadian market in the form of individual insurance since the mid-1990s. As for group critical illness insurance, this is a relatively new product that has been gaining popularity over the past few years.

The protection of personal information is a growing concern for employers and employees. On January 1, 2001, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act came into effect. The purpose of this Act is to better protect individuals' privacy, including the security of their social insurance number (hereinafter called SIN). Several recommendations were made. For instance, the Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec (CAI) is against the use of the SIN as a participant identification number for group insurance plan.

For the second consecutive year, Normandin Beaudry is issuing a bulletin about non-refundable tax credits for medical expenses that can be claimed on income tax returns. This is a follow-up to our March 2005 bulletin (Vol. 8, No. 4).