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Some recessed light fixtures require an airgap to the insulation or they will overheat. Some that I installed a few years ago required a clearance of 6" or so. Please check the types of fixtures that you have before you put any insulation over them or seal them up.
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Save money on your electric bill
It sounds to me like there are significant differences in the construction methods. You guys live a lot further north than I do. Insulation on houses here is not taken as seriously, I suppose. Most of my houses have used roll insulation with an attached vapor barrier. But there are big gaps in the coverage.
For example in my former California residence, the recessed lights required an 6" airgap according to the installation instructions. With only about 8" of insulation in the attic in the first place, that amounts to a big hole in the insulation that is a square about the same size as the joist spacing. That section not only leaked air at the recessed fixture, but the only separation between the living space and the attic air was a 5/8" gypsum board. That same house had no insulation in the exterior walls.
In NM it gets a bit colder. More attention is paid to insulation, but there is still little finish or closure work done around recessed lighting fixtures. Ken is certainly right that using gaskets to seal up the airflow is a benefit. I have used caulking before, but that is a problem if you have to remove the fixture for some reason.
Another thing that I have done in the past to narrow the airgap around recessed fixtures is to cut a piece of 10" round steel duct and place that around the fixture. That provides about a 2" airgap and will keep insulation from closing onto the fixtures and overheating them. This also allowed me to have a much smaller uninsulated patch. Fixtures that are rated for direct insulation contact would solve all of these problems. But, it occurs to me that places like Lowe's and Home Depot may stock different types of fixtures for different areas and codes.
Recessed fixtures in my old house in NM had holes directly through the metal. Heat loss wasn't such a big problem but yellow jackets were. With holes about 5/16 through the metal and into the attic space, the bugs would come right through these fixtures and into the house. You could put gaskets on the rims, but the holes were for ventilation and were a real PITA.
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