The 2015 federal budget is out, and at least one industry organization is pleased with what it contains.
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) has expressed approval of the economic mandate, and feels that many of its provisions will be beneficial to the insurance sector.
"We are particularly pleased with those aimed at enhancing opportunities for long-term investment," Frank Swedlove, president and CEO of CLHIA said.
Swedlove believes that many of the fiscal elements put forth by Finance Minister Joe Oliver will prove fruitful for many years down the line.
"We support the increased funding for infrastructure, most notably the recognition that P3 alternative financing can be an effective contributor. We also support the further release of 50-year government bonds over the next year," Swedlove added.
In addition, he supports the safeguards put into place to protect sensitive financial discourse.
“There’s a specific provision that is important in terms of ensuring that the information companies share with regulators will be treated in a privileged way. This will ensure that there’s good dialogue between the regulator and insurance companies.”
Also, in the health arena, the association appreciates that seniors are encouraged to stay in their homes longer, although CLHIA feels that the budget could have advocated this even more vocally.
“In our pre-budget submission, we suggested that there be a 15% tax credit available for long-term care insurance,” Swedlove said. “Our view is that long-term care is not covered under the Canada Health Act, and is therefore a private responsibility, but many people don’t know or fully understand that.”
Still, he hopes that the government may address this issue more extensively in the future.
“A signal from government that people need to think about their long-term care costs would be pretty powerful,” he said.
