Sask. provides pension relief; ‘Think outside the office’; Alberta aims to boost high school grads; Protection for domestic workers
Sask. provides pension relief
Regina — The Saskatchewan government has temporarily suspended the requirement for sponsors of defined benefit pension (DB) plans to make up shortfalls in plans resulting from poor investment returns. It is giving the province’s 62 registered DB pension plans — representing more than 120,000 members — the option of a three-year moratorium to make up the shortfall. “The government wants to give these plans some breathing room while the investment markets recover,” said Don Morgan, minister responsible for the Saskatchewan Financial Services Commission.
‘Think outside the office’
Calgary — The federal government is partnering with the City of Calgary, Calgary Economic Development and the Calgary Regional Partnership to support “WORKshift — Think Outside the Office,” a new telework initiative. Ottawa is kicking in $800,000 to help develop a three-year plan that supports telework programs by raising public awareness of its benefits and providing businesses with specific guidance and support in planning, designing and implementing programs.
Alberta aims to boost high school grads
Edmonton — Alberta is investing $4.2 million in a program to encourage students to stay in school. That works out to $55,000 per school jurisdiction, plus $5 per student enrolled in Grades 10 to 12. The money will be used to support programs such as personalized learning, mentorship programs, off-campus learning and increased counselling support in schools. The province’s five-year high school completion rate currently sits at 79.5 per cent and the government hopes to boost that number to 82 per cent by 2012.
Protection for domestic workers
Edmonton — Alberta is repealing a decades-old exemption that allowed employment agencies to charge extra fees to nannies, live-in caregivers and other people looking for work in private homes. Service Alberta Minister Heather Klimchuk said there was “no good reason” for the exemption to exist, adding it’s already illegal for employment agencies to charge for helping find work for people in other sectors. Agencies that connect domestic workers with jobs will also have to be licensed by the province. The changes take effect Sept. 1.
