Canada's Top 100 Employers

BC Hydro:

- helps employees prepare for retirement with a generous contributions to a defined benefit pension plan, and a phased-in retirement work option

-manages a technologist-in-training program for candidates in the engineering, operations and electrical systems maintenance and repair fields

-host in-house apprenticeship programs for graduates from a wide variety of technical fields

-offer maternity leave top-up benefits to employees who are new mothers (to 85% of salary for 17 weeks)

Club Intrawest:

-pays employees financial bonuses (to $1500) when they refer someone who is successfully hired by the company

-provide a variety of training options to employees, including in-house and online training programs, and career planning assistance

-gives employees generous discounts at affiliated resort destinations across North America

-offers a flexible health benefits plan, so employees can customize the coverage they receive

Nintendo of Canada:

-helps employees save for retirement with contributions to a matching RSP plan

-provides employees with five paid days off during the Christmas break, in addition to paid vacation allowance

-offers maternity leave top-up (to 100% for 16 weeks) for new mothers

-encourages employee wellness with free memberships to an onsite fitness facility, that also offers onsite yoga classes

Simon Fraser Unirversity:

-provides parental leave top-up payments for new mothers, fathers and adoptive parents (to 100% for 37 weeks)

- employees can take advantage of an onsite daycare facility as well as a summer day camp program for school-age children of employees

-gives employees free memberships to a state-of-the-art fitness facility

-provides employees with a generous tuition subsidy -- with no annual maximum -- for courses taken at the university

- offers employees a health benefits plan that extends through retirement, with no age limit

Next Level Games Inc.

-a leading small employer and a pioneer in the gaming industry, offering parental leave top-up payments for new and adoptive mothers (to 80% for 27 weeks)

- offers new employees three weeks vacation, plus five paid personal days off and paid time off at Christmas

-lets employees share in the company's success with profit-sharing and share purchase plans

-helps employees stay in-shape with subsidized fitness club memberships and free ski passes to nearby Cypress Mountain

-offers flexible work hours, telecommuting and even lets employees bring their pets to work when needed