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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

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
Page 1 and 2:
Accountable…to stakeholdersCompen
Page 3 and 4:
Table Of Contents3.4.3 Employers’
Page 5 and 6:
Table Of Contents5.0 A FINAL WORD 1
Page 7 and 8:
The Legislative Review Directorate
Page 9 and 10:
3.0 Workers’Compensation Acts3.1
Page 11 and 12:
2.0 General ThemesDuring the course
Page 13 and 14:
The Panel has generally adopted the
Page 15 and 16:
The Panel did receive positive comm
Page 17 and 18:
wanted was to return to work and st
Page 19 and 20:
2. Are there workers in specific in
Page 21 and 22:
Panel feels legislation should be p
Page 23 and 24:
3.2 WCB Authority and Accountabilit
Page 25 and 26:
WCB Board of Directors may chose to
Page 27 and 28:
3.2.6 Regular Reviews of the Worker
Page 29 and 30:
Recommendations: 3.2.8 Liability Pr
Page 31 and 32:
Legislation in 2 other jurisdiction
Page 33 and 34:
The legislation in other jurisdicti
Page 35 and 36:
ones held accountable for a decisio
Page 37 and 38:
members may be reappointed to the W
Page 39 and 40:
Some suggested that having a compen
Page 41 and 42:
Recommendations: 3.4.2 Workers’ A
Page 43 and 44:
The WCB Board of Directors made the
Page 45 and 46:
esolutions committees, under the au
Page 47 and 48:
The Appeals Tribunal must give the
Page 49 and 50:
The Panel considered the establishm
Page 51 and 52:
Recommendations: 3.5.5 Time Limits
Page 53 and 54:
are not familiar with some of the u
Page 55 and 56:
The Panel was interested in the Ont
Page 57 and 58:
Workers’ compensation payments ar
Page 59 and 60: 3.6.3 Year’s Maximum Insurable Re
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
Page 73 and 74: Respondents to the Stakeholder Ques
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
Page 161 and 162:
STAKEHOLDER QUESTIONNAIRE AND SUMMA
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
SUMMARY OF ISSUES FROM PUBLIC HEARI
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
Page 183 and 184:
Key:SUMMARY OF ISSUES FROM PUBLIC H
Page 185 and 186:
Page 187 and 188:
Page 189 and 190:
Page 191 and 192:
Page 193 and 194:
Key:SUMMARY OF ISSUES FROM PUBLIC H
Page 195 and 196:
Page 197 and 198:
Page 199 and 200:
smoke.Key:SUMMARY OF ISSUES FROM PU
Page 201 and 202:
Page 203 and 204:
SUMMARY OF FORMAL PRESENTATIONS AND
Page 205:
SUMMARY OF FORMAL PRESENTATIONS AND
show all

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

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?