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

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operators have chosen not to apply for coverage (for their own reasons) and are no risk tothe Accident Fund. Their customers should not be burdened with paying assessments forsomething the independent operator does not want.Stakeholders told us that if independent operators choose to give themselves a regularpaycheque, there should not be any discretion in accepting an application for workers’compensation coverage from them. The Panel agrees with stakeholders.Currently, Subsection 9(1)(a), which excludes executive officers from being consideredworkers, and Subsection 66(2), which includes executive officers, contradict each other.The Panel believes that executive officers receiving a paycheque from an employershould also be considered workers. As stated above, where an employment relationshipexists and a person receives a regular paycheque, that person should be considered aworker for the purposes of the Acts.Volunteers make a significant contribution to life in the NWT and Nunavut. The Actsnow deem certain classes of volunteers, such as mine rescuers and firefighters, asworkers under the Acts. The Panel does not see a difference between volunteers who arecalled upon to fight fires and volunteers who are called upon to assist in declared civil orcommunity emergencies. No assessments are collected for volunteers in this category.We found the Ontario legislation helpful in this regard. This legislation specificallymentions volunteer firefighters and ambulance brigade members but includes 2 moregeneral clauses related to volunteers assisting the police and those who assist when anemergency is declared by an authorized official (i.e., the Premier or head of a municipalcorporation).Volunteers in general are addressed in Subsections 8(3) and (4) of the Acts. The Actsprovide that an employer (i.e., the organization for which the volunteer “works”) mayapply for coverage of their volunteers. It is up to the WCB to approve an application ornot. Assessments are collected for any approved coverage. This is an area where theWCB Legislative Review Panel Report Page 15 of 128December, 2001
Panel feels legislation should be prescriptive rather than permissive. The Panel does notpresume to dictate whether or not volunteer organizations wish to cover their volunteers.However, the Panel does believe that once a decision to apply for coverage is made, theWCB must accept the application. In this case, assessments for coverage would be leviedby the WCB and paid for by the volunteer organization as the “employer”.Recommendations: 3.1.2 Definition of Worker1. The legislation should be amended to include reference to an employmentrelationship. Ontario’s legislation should be considered in this regard.2. The legislation should be amended to consolidate the definition of a worker so that allinclusions and exclusions are found in the same section.3. The legislation should be amended to simplify the definition of a worker and includeall persons receiving a regular paycheque from an employer. and if necessary forgreater certainty, should specifically include learners.4. The legislation should continue to provide independent operators with the option ofapplying for coverage under the Acts. The legislation should be amended to requirethe WCB to accept an application for coverage from an independent operator.5. The legislation should be amended as required to ensure that employers are notassessed for independent contractors who choose not to apply for coverage under theActs.6. The legislation should be amended such that all volunteers that are called upon inemergencies (e.g., firefighters, ambulance drivers, mine rescue workers, thoseproviding assistance to civil or police authorities in a declared emergency) arecovered under the Acts. The legislation should be further amended to confirm thatcoverage begins when these volunteers leave their home on their way to theemergency. There should not be a change to legislation to levy assessments for thiscategory of volunteers.7. The legislation should be amended to require the WCB to approve applications fromorganizations wishing to pay assessments for coverage of their volunteers.WCB Legislative Review Panel Report Page 16 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: 2. Are there workers in specific in
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 95 and 96:
4. The legislation should be change
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 and 110:
others have experience as employers
Page 111 and 112:
While the Panel heard positive comm
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 119 and 120:
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Recommendations: 3.5.5 Time Limits
Page 123 and 124:
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Recommendation: 3.7.3 Rewarding Saf
Page 127 and 128:
Recommendation: 3.12.4 Employer Rec
Page 129 and 130:
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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
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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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