POLITICS / Reform
A quick guide to what's happening at Queen's Park - including discussion in the House and Committees of workers' compensation issues,
legislative initiatives and changes, oversight of the Board.
Standing Committee (Hansard)
January 24, 2008 : Standing committee on Finance and Economic Affairs [pre-budget consultations]
Presentation by the Thunder Bay & District Injured Workers Support Group[pdf]
February 27 & Mar.1, 2007 : Standing Committee on Government Agencies
[review of the WSIB] February 27 [pdf] March 1 [pdf]
Presentations by the WSIB, Ontario Federation of Labour, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, Canadian Federation of Independent Business,
Industrial Accident Prevention Association, Les Liversidge, Industrial Accident Victims' Group of Ontario.
Includes discussion of experience rating, COLA / indexation, fraud, deeming, coverage, unfunded liability, occuptional disease policy, worker health & safety agencies.
Questions in
the House (Debates)
June 2, 2008: Member's statement on Injured Workers' Day.Khalil Ramal [Text]
June 2, 2008: Question to the Deputy Premier on the promise to eliminate deeming made last Injured Worker's Day.Paul Miller / George Smitherman. [Text]
May 14, 2008: Opposition Day motion on the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board's experience rating program. [Text]
April 28, 2008: Statements to the House on the Day of Mourning. [Text]
April 28, 2008: Question to the Minister of Labour. Howard Hampton / Brad Duguid. [Coverage]
[Experience rating]
April 28, 2008: Question to the Minister of Labour on workplace safety. Laura Albanese / Brad Duguid. [Text]
April 17, 2008: Question to the Minister of Labour on experience rating. Paul Miller / Brad Duguid. [Text]
April 10, 2008: Question to the Minister of Labour on experience rating. Paul Miller / Brad Duguid. [Text]
April 9, 2008: Question to the Minister of Labour on experience rating and call for WCB Chair's resignation. Paul Miller / Brad Duguid. [Text]
April 7, 2008 : Question to the Minister of Labour on experience rating and the WCB's review. Paul Miller / Brad Duguid. [Text]
April 3, 2008 : Question to the Minister of Labour on Board salaries & unfunded liability. Robert Bailey / Brad Duguid. [Text]
March 17, 2008: Question to the Minister of Agriculture on farm injuries. Pat Hoy / Steve Peters. [Text]
December 13, 2007 : Question to the Minister of Labour on health care equipment supplies for
injured workers. Gilles Bisson / Brad Duguid. [Text]
December 11, 2007 : Question to the Minister of Labour on government assistance for injured workers in Hamilton and the province.
Sophia Aggelonitis / Brad Duguid. [Text]
December 11, 2007 : Question to the Minister of Labour on the Christmas Demo, Friedland formula. Paul Miller / Brad Duguid.[Text]
May 30, 2007 : Statement by the Minister of Labour and responses on Injured Workers' Day. Steve Peters, Gerry Martiniuk, Andrea Horwath.
[Text]
December 19, 2006 : Question to the Minister of Labour on repetitive strain injury.
John Milloy / Steve Peters. [Text]
December 7, 2006 : Question to the Minister of Labour
on the Brock Smith reports and extending coverage of workers'
compensation. Andrea Horwath / Steve Peters.[Text]
November 20, 2006 : Question to the Minister of
Labour on indexation of compensation benefits. Andrea Horwath /
Steve Peters. [Text]
October 16, 2006 : Question to the Minister of Labour
on delayed compensation for Dryden pulp mill workers exposed to toxic
chemicals. Howard Hampton / Steve Peters. [Text]
June 1, 2006 : Statement by the
Ministry & Responses - Injured Workers' Day. [Text]
Legislation
Bill 84, Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act, 2008
(Private Member's Bill - Ontario Legislative Assembly. 39th Legislature, 1st Session)
Introduced June 2, 2008 by Andrea Horwath, MPP - Hamilton Centre (NDP)
Bill [pdf]
"The bill amends the Act to create a registry of workplace deaths, critical injuries
and occupational illnesses, information that is currently provided to the Minister of Labour.
The online registry would make it available to everyone."
Bill 221, Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act (Presumptions
for Firefighters), 2007
(Government Bill - Ontario Legislative Assembly. 38th Legislature, 2nd
Session)
Introduced May 3, 2007 by the Minister of Labour (based on Andrea Horwath's Private Member Bill 111, May 2006);
Second and third reading May 3, Royal assent May 4, 2007.
Bill [pdf] |
Debates |
Background
Bill 187, Budget Measures and Interim Appropriations Act, 2007
(Government Bill - Ontario Legislative Assembly. 38th Legislature, 2nd
Session)
Introduced March 22, 2007 by the Minister of Finance. Second reading (carried and referred to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic
Affairs) April 17, 2007. Public hearings (Toronto) April 25-26, 2007; reported as amended May 2, ordered for
third reading May 9, carried on division May 10, Royal Assent May 17 (all sections in force July 1, 2007 except s.10(2))
S.O. 2007 c.3 (Bill 187 as passed)
Bill (1st reading) - Schedule 41: Workplace Safety and Insurance
Amendment Act. [Debates |
Background | Injured workers' responses]
Bill 177,
Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act, 2006
(Private
Member's Bill - Ontario Legislative Assembly. 38th Legislature, 2nd
Session)
Introduced December 19, 2006 by Jennifer Mossop, MPP
- Stoney Creek (Liberal)
Bill [pdf]
"...This
bill addresses two key issues brought to me by injured workers in Ontario.
The first says that the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board will consider
employment or business positions which are both suitable and available to
the worker when determining the worker's post-injury earnings, and second,
it will permit additional circumstances when the board may review a
worker's loss-of-earnings benefit after the 72-month lock-in.
I would like to thank Rob Walters, Bill Wrye and
Steve Peters for their help and support in crafting this bill."
Bill 168,
Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act, 2006
(Private Member's Bill - Ontario Legislative
Assembly. 38th Legislature, 2nd Session) Introduced December 5, 2006 by
Michael Gravelle, MPP - Thunder Bay - Superior North (Liberal)
Bill [pdf]
"...This legislation, if it is
passed, will go a long way to restoring fairness and balance to the
workers' compensation system by annually indexing workers' benefits to the
consumer price index, thus creating a cost-of-living increase for injured
workers.
I appreciate the all-party support for this bill,
and I want to particularly thank the Thunder Bay and District Injured
Workers Support Group for their perseverance in moving this legislation
forward." (Hansard Dec. 5, 2006)
Summary:
The Bill amends the Workplace Safety
and Insurance Act, 1997 by creating a single general indexing factor
based on the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for the
previous year.
Bill 162, Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act
(Indexing), 2006
(Private Member's Bill - Ontario Legislative Assembly.
38th Legislature, 2nd Session)
Introduced November 22,
2006 by Andrea Horwath, MPP - Hamilton East (NDP)
Bill [pdf]
Summary:
Currently, the
Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 provides for two
indexing factors to be applied each year to amounts payable under Part VI
(Insured Payments). The indexing factor to be used depends on the type of
payment. One indexing factor is equal to the percentage change in the
Consumer Price Index. The other indexing factor is calculated by reducing
the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index according toa formula
set out in the Act.
The Bill amends the Act to remove the reduced
indexing factor. The Bill also provides for the unreduced indexing factor
to apply to all payments made on or after January 1, 1994. If any payment
made to a person on or after that date was less than the amount that would
have been paid using the unreduced indexingfactor, the Board must pay the
difference to the person.
Amendments
addressing transitional matters are also included.
Bill 111, Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act (Bob Shaw),
2006
(Private Member's Bill - Ontario Legislative
Assembly. 38th Legislature, 2nd Session)
Introduced May 4, 2006 by Andrea Horwath, MPP -
Hamilton East (NDP).
2nd reading October 5 - referred to Standing
Committee on General Government.
Bill [pdf]
"... this bill, which will basically see that
firefighters get certain types of cancer or degenerative neurological
diseases recognized as occupationally related and enshrined in the
legislation of the WSIB. It's long overdue; other provinces have done it.
This is Ontario's opportunity to make sure that our firefighters, who put
their lives on the line every day for the people of every community in
this province, don't have to fight tooth and nail at the WSIB when one of
their loved ones ends up dying of a disease that they contracted while
fighting fires...." (Hansard, May 4, 2006)
Bill 86, Ontario Workers'
Memorial Act, 2006
(Private Member's Bill - Ontario Legislative Assembly. 38th
Legislature, 2nd Session)
Introduced March 30, 2006 by Khalil
Ramal, MPP - London Fanshawe (Liberal)
2nd reading May 11 - referred to Standing Committee on Social Policy
2nd reading - Hansard |
Bill [pdf]
Summary:
"...This bill is not new to this place. It was first
introduced by the late Dominic Agostino -- many people in this place
remember him -- on May 21, 2003. That's why the first time I introduced
this bill was in memory of my colleague, who died battling a disease he
suffered from for a long time. I thought the first time that it was
important to continue his journey as a fighter for the working people of
this province. I didn't get the chance to pass that bill in the past, and
I strongly hope that this time, this bill will see the light.My bill is to
establish a memorial for the workers who get injured and die in
workplaces. It's important to note that almost 49 cities and towns across
Ontario have such memorials to recognize the injured workers who died on
the job. Many people have spoken about it in the past, especially since we
just passed April 28, the International Day of Mourning for Workers. Many
people, many unions and many workers celebrate that international day to
recognize the effort workers put towards building communities, especially
in the province of Ontario..."
