Act Now - The Report of the WCB Legislative Review Panel to the

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6.0 Executive Summary and Summary of Recommendations1.0 IntroductionThe Ministers responsible for the Workers’ Compensation Board of the NorthwestTerritories and Nunavut (the Ministers) appointed the WCB Legislative Review Panel(the Panel) in early 2001.The Panel is composed of a chairperson, representing the public interest, and 6 members,with an equal number representing the interests of workers and employers in theNorthwest Territories (NWT) and Nunavut.The Ministers charged the Panel with: Hearing oral presentations and reviewing written submissions fromstakeholder groups in the NWT and Nunavut; Reporting on the results of the consultation process; Expressing its views on the issues presented by stakeholder groups; and Making recommendations to the Ministers for changes to the Acts.The Panel carried out an extensive consultation process that involved public hearings inthe regional centres and capitals of the 2 territories and a stakeholder questionnaire. ThePanel also received written submissions from stakeholders. During the Panel’s publicconsultations, we heard from hundreds of stakeholders.The Panel had the benefit of research comparing practices in other jurisdictions, recentreviews of workers’ compensation systems in other jurisdictions, and researchcommissioned by the Panel.The Panel’s discussions were always constructive. There was a thorough airing ofdifferent points of view. The vast majority of decisions about our recommendations weremade by consensus.WCB Legislative Review Panel Report Page 105 of 128December, 2001
While the Panel heard positive comments from stakeholders about the manner in whichthe Workers’ Compensation Board of the NWT and Nunavut (the WCB) wasadministering the Acts, the Panel heard more from those who criticized the WCB. Insome cases, the problem was with the legislation. In other cases, the criticism was aboutoperational or administrative practices of the WCB. This criticism was of grave concernto the Panel.2.0 General ThemesDuring the course of the Panel’s public consultation phase, we heard a number of themesrepeated over and over. We have titled our report “ACT NOW” and incorporated manyof the recurring comments into the title.There are 5 general themes that influenced the Panel’s conclusions and recommendations.1. The “Meredith Principles”The Meredith Principles come from a report on workers’ compensation made in 1913.The principles are the basis for workers’ compensation systems in Canada and aresummarized in part in the Panel’s terms of reference: Workers relinquish their right to sue employers, at common law, in returnfor a no fault system of compensation, medical treatment, andrehabilitation. Employers accept collective liability and totally fund the compensationsystem in return for protection from legal action. Workers’ compensation boards must be independent of the executivebranch of government and must be perceived as adjudicating on anindependent basis. Accountability is a fundamental prerequisite for preventing misuse ofdelegated power.WCB Legislative Review Panel Report Page 106 of 128December, 2001
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Accountable…to stakeholdersCompen
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Table Of Contents3.4.3 Employers’
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Table Of Contents5.0 A FINAL WORD 1
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The Legislative Review Directorate
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3.0 Workers’Compensation Acts3.1
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2.0 General ThemesDuring the course
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The Panel has generally adopted the
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The Panel did receive positive comm
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wanted was to return to work and st
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2. Are there workers in specific in
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Panel feels legislation should be p
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3.2 WCB Authority and Accountabilit
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WCB Board of Directors may chose to
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3.2.6 Regular Reviews of the Worker
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Recommendations: 3.2.8 Liability Pr
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Legislation in 2 other jurisdiction
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The legislation in other jurisdicti
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ones held accountable for a decisio
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members may be reappointed to the W
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Some suggested that having a compen
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Recommendations: 3.4.2 Workers’ A
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The WCB Board of Directors made the
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esolutions committees, under the au
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The Appeals Tribunal must give the
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The Panel considered the establishm
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Recommendations: 3.5.5 Time Limits
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are not familiar with some of the u
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The Panel was interested in the Ont
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Workers’ compensation payments ar
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Page 61 and 62: The Acts are very specific in some
Page 63 and 64: 3.6.5 Indexing Compensation by Comm
Page 65 and 66: 2. The legislation should be change
Page 67 and 68: The Panel considered whether the in
Page 69 and 70: The Panel heard from some stakehold
Page 71 and 72: The Acts require any employer, whet
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Page 75 and 76: The Panel agrees. We see prior cons
Page 77 and 78: 3.9.3 Authority to Make Investments
Page 79 and 80: Respondents to the Stakeholder Ques
Page 81 and 82: The duty to accommodate is not an o
Page 83 and 84: payments such as income tax or payr
Page 85 and 86: 3.13 Environmental ChangeThe Acts h
Page 87 and 88: construction permits is a matter of
Page 89 and 90: date sections, reordering the “pa
Page 91 and 92: The Panel has recommended changes t
Page 93 and 94: the WCB when it is contemplating ch
Page 97 and 98: The Panel was asked to consider rec
Page 99 and 100: No other jurisdictions regulate wor
Page 101 and 102: 4.2.5 Safety InspectionsSome stakeh
Page 103 and 104: 4.4 Employer Responsibilities4.4.1
Page 105 and 106: The Panel feels that the instrument
Page 107 and 108: Recommendation: 4.6.2 Consistency w
Page 109: others have experience as employers
Page 113 and 114: 5. Operational versus Legislative I
Page 115 and 116: 3. The legislation should be amende
Page 117 and 118: 3. It is suggested that the first r
Page 121 and 122: Recommendations: 3.5.5 Time Limits
Page 125 and 126: Recommendation: 3.7.3 Rewarding Saf
Page 127 and 128: Recommendation: 3.12.4 Employer Rec
Page 131 and 132: Regulations (see also Recommendatio
Page 133 and 134: 5.0 A Final WordThe Panel has recom
Page 135 and 136: Glossary and DefinitionsAccident Fu
Page 137 and 138: Glossary and DefinitionsNet annualr
Page 139 and 140: WCB Legislative Review Panel Terms
Page 141 and 142: WCB LEGISLATIVE REVIEW PANELTERMS O
Page 143 and 144: STAKEHOLDER QUESTIONNAIRE AND SUMMA
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STAKEHOLDER QUESTIONNAIRE AND SUMMA
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SUMMARY OF ISSUES FROM PUBLIC HEARI
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Key:SUMMARY OF ISSUES FROM PUBLIC H
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Key:SUMMARY OF ISSUES FROM PUBLIC H
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smoke.Key:SUMMARY OF ISSUES FROM PU
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SUMMARY OF FORMAL PRESENTATIONS AND
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SUMMARY OF FORMAL PRESENTATIONS AND
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