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

in favour of a worker, contained in the Acts. Such special provisions do not alwaysapply in the administration of government programs.The Panel heard from a number of stakeholders about the importance they place on WCBindependence from the executive branch of government. The Panel agrees withstakeholders. The Panel also feels that with independence, as with exclusive jurisdiction,comes increased responsibilities for the WCB. These responsibilities include the need fortransparency and accountability in administration of the Acts.3.2.3 Distinction Between the WCB Board of Directors and the Corporate WCBThe Acts commonly refer to the “Board,” which is defined as the Workers’ CompensationBoard, when assigning responsibility for action or authority for decision-making. It isnot always clear whether the references are to the WCB Board of Directors or thecorporate WCB. The name “Workers’ Compensation Board” does not help sort out thisconfusion.Other jurisdictions have changed the names of their WCBs over time, especially whenresponsibility for workplace safety has been assigned. The term “commission” has beenintroduced to replace “board” in others.The Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada defines “board” or“WCB” as the corporate WCB and “Board” as the governing body of the WCB, alsoreferred to as the Board of Directors. While these definitions are helpful, they do reflectthe usage of the terms in the Acts.The Panel places significant importance on accountability by the WCB and feels thataccountability starts with the WCB Board of Directors. The WCB Board of Directorsgoverns the administration of the Acts and is responsible for leading the corporate WCB.In order to be held accountable, there must be a clear assignment of authority. The Panelfeels that generally the Acts should assign authority to the WCB Board of Directors. TheWCB Legislative Review Panel Report Page 19 of 128December, 2001