[Canada] Parliamentary committee will investigate ‘Canada Life fiasco’

The Canadian federal government’s decision to switch providers to the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) has led to issues for public service workers. A parliamentary committee will now investigate the situation, HRD reports.

Last week, the standing committee on government operations and estimates adopted a motion to examine what has been described as the “Canada Life fiasco,” according to a report from CBC.

The report said that by adopting the motion, the committee is agreeing to "devote at least one meeting to carrying out this study," and share its findings with the House of Commons.

A list of witnesses was reportedly due to have been given to the committee clerk on Friday.

Ottawa recently selected Sun Life to help with the rollout of the Canadian Dental Care Plan. Up to $15 million was awarded to Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada by the federal government, under an Early Work Agreement.

Investigation’s focus

The PSHCP is the largest healthcare plan in the country. It switched providers from Sun Life Financial to Canada Life Assurance Company on July 1. The move impacted more than 1.7 million federal public servants, retirees and their dependents.

According to CBC reporting, the parliamentary committee will look into the following:

• quality of insurance coverage
• efficiency and effectiveness of the new insurance plan; particularly online claims and telephone service
• mechanisms used by Public Services and Procurement Canada to award the contract
• measures to "restore the situation" that will be put in place.

Two-thirds (66 per cent) of working Canadians with access to employer-provided benefits reportedly rate their overall wellbeing as good or excellent, compared to 49 per cent of those without these benefits, a previous report found.

In 2020, to reflect the financial consequences that the Phoenix payroll system issues caused public servants, the federal government introduced a claims process allowing eligible employees, both current and former, to request compensation for severe financial costs and lost investment income.

Source: HRD

(Links and quotes via original reporting)

The Canadian federal government’s decision to switch providers to the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) has led to issues for public service workers. A parliamentary committee will now investigate the situation, HRD reports.

Last week, the standing committee on government operations and estimates adopted a motion to examine what has been described as the “Canada Life fiasco,” according to a report from CBC.

The report said that by adopting the motion, the committee is agreeing to "devote at least one meeting to carrying out this study," and share its findings with the House of Commons.

A list of witnesses was reportedly due to have been given to the committee clerk on Friday.

Ottawa recently selected Sun Life to help with the rollout of the Canadian Dental Care Plan. Up to $15 million was awarded to Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada by the federal government, under an Early Work Agreement.

Investigation’s focus

The PSHCP is the largest healthcare plan in the country. It switched providers from Sun Life Financial to Canada Life Assurance Company on July 1. The move impacted more than 1.7 million federal public servants, retirees and their dependents.

According to CBC reporting, the parliamentary committee will look into the following:

• quality of insurance coverage
• efficiency and effectiveness of the new insurance plan; particularly online claims and telephone service
• mechanisms used by Public Services and Procurement Canada to award the contract
• measures to "restore the situation" that will be put in place.

Two-thirds (66 per cent) of working Canadians with access to employer-provided benefits reportedly rate their overall wellbeing as good or excellent, compared to 49 per cent of those without these benefits, a previous report found.

In 2020, to reflect the financial consequences that the Phoenix payroll system issues caused public servants, the federal government introduced a claims process allowing eligible employees, both current and former, to request compensation for severe financial costs and lost investment income.

Source: HRD

(Links and quotes via original reporting)