Bill 135 update

Despite protests, schedule 21 not dropped - Bill 135 passes into law

At the public hearings held Dec. 2, 2010 on Bill 135, Helping Ontario Families and Managing Responsibly Act, 2010, the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs heard submissions from the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups (ONIWG), Injured Workers' Consultants (IWC) and the Industrial Accident Victims Group of Ontario (IAVGO) that Schedule 21 should be removed from the Bill because:

It will make a fundamental changes to the Workers' Compensation system and should not be done in haste
It is premature to introduce legislation on funding before we have the recommendations of the Arthurs Review on this very topic
The Unfunded Liability is not a crisis.

Although many contacted the Premier and Minister of Finance with their concerns before clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill on December 6th, the Standing Committee reported the Bill back to the Legislature with Schedule 21 unchanged.

IWC submission on Bill 135 [read here]
Committee Hansard Dec. 2 , Dec. 6, 2010
Fax to Premier McGuinty, Dec. 2, 2010 ⁄ Michael S. Green
Email to the Premier, Dec. 2, 2010 ⁄ Robert Storey
House debate on Bill 135, Dec. 7, passed Dec. 8 2010

Concerns with proposed changes to workers' compensation funding (as of Dec. 8 now passed into law) :

The Government is about to push through amendments to the workers compensation Act which will change fundamentals of the system. This is in Schedule 21 of Bill 135.
It will require the Board to maintain a fully funded account with additional reserves.
It will delete the current clear requirement that any insufficiency of funds will be corrected by a raise in the employer rates. (Sec.96 (4)(5)(6) of the current Act.)
It will delete the safety net of a provincial loan to the workers compensation system. (Sec. 100 of the current Act.)
This leaves one wondering who will pay?
The raising of rates as a requirement to deal with "insufficiency of funds" is replaced by a requirement of the Board to make a "plan." (New proposed section 96.1 and its 10 sub-sections)
We know too well what will be in such a plan.
The overall effect will be to replace a simple system (based on rates) to a complicated system (based on a plan) which will both cost the system more to implement and will make injured workers vulnerable to administrative cuts to services and benefits.
It also completely undermines the authenticity, capacity and authority of the year long Funding Review Panel in its mandate to thoroughly explore funding issues and make comprehensive recommendations.
We understand that the Auditor General and the Province are concerned with the perception that the Board's steady-state funding creates a provincial debt.
It is not a provincial debt, but to allay this constant theme, it would not likely harm injured workers to have the safety-net provision removed. It has never been used-not even in the Great Depression.

Suggested Recommendations

1. Delete Schedule 21 from Bill 135. (That is, remove any reference to the workers compensation system from the Bill.) or
2. To give the Province peace-of-mind maintain one, and only one, part of Schedule 21: "Use of Reserve Funds" sec. 3.1 Section 100 of the Act is repealed." (That is, allow for the removal of the safety net of a government loan presently outlined in Sec. 100 of the Act.)