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

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The Panel believes that the independence of the Appeals Tribunal is crucial to ensure theintegrity of the process. The Panel accepts that the WCB Board of Directors requiressome recourse should the Appeals Tribunal misapply their policy or exceed itsjurisdiction. Currently, this recourse is the WCB Board of Directors’ authority to order arehearing of an Appeals Tribunal decision. This recourse should not be open-ended.Time limits are discussed in Section 3.5.5, Time Limits in the Appeal Processes.Recommendations: 3.5.3 Independence of the Appeals Tribunal1. The legislation should be changed to enable the Appeals Tribunal to hire or contractits own staff and professional advisors (e.g., legal and medical).2. The legislation should be changed to require the Appeals Tribunal to apply WCBBoard of Directors’ policy when applicable.3. The legislation should be changed to reinforce the application of natural justice andpresumption in favour of an injured worker by the Appeals Tribunal.4. The legislation should be changed to remove Subsection 7.7(4).3.5.4 Appointments to the Appeals TribunalThe NWT Minister appoints members to the Appeals Tribunal within the provisions ofSubsections 7.1(1) and (2). Some stakeholders suggested that the NWT Minister shouldbenefit from the advice of the Nunavut Minister and not just representatives of workersand employers. The Panel agrees. In addition, there was a strongly held view of thePanel that the Minister should not be making any appointments without the advice ofstakeholders (the Minister can appoint 2 members he feels are appropriate).Some stakeholders suggested that the Chair of the Appeals Tribunal should be a full-timeposition. The Panel does not agree with this suggestion. The Panel believes that the needfor appeals should lessen when administration of the Acts is focused on achieving thestated purpose of the Acts in a non-adversarial manner. Should this not occur, we leave itto future review panels to revisit this suggestion.WCB Legislative Review Panel Report Page 43 of 128December, 2001
The Panel considered the establishment of the 2 Appeals Tribunals, one for the NWT andone for Nunavut. Respondents to the Stakeholder Questionnaire were almost evenlysplit. We concluded that this is a matter for the territorial governments to consider intheir interjurisdictional agreement.The Panel considered the length of appointment for members of the WCB Board ofDirectors in Section 3.3.6, WCB Board Members’ Term of Office and believes the sameapproach should apply to the Appeals Tribunal.Recommendations: 3.5.4 Appointments to the Appeals Tribunal1. The legislation should be changed to require advice from the Nunavut Minister on allAppeals Tribunal appointments.2. The legislation should be changed to appoint members of the Appeals Tribunal for aterm up to 3 years. The Panel urges the Minister to consider staggered terms toprovide continuity and stability on the Appeals Tribunal.3. The legislation should be changed to enable the reappointment of members of theAppeals Tribunal to a maximum of 6 consecutive years of service. Former membersmay be reappointed to the Appeals Tribunal after a 1 year break in service.4. The current provision in the Acts to enable a member of the Appeals Tribunal tocomplete their duties if an appeal has started but not finished before the expiry oftheir term should remain.3.5.5 Time Limits in the Appeal ProcessesStakeholders and respondents to the Stakeholder Questionnaire told the Panel about thehardship created by the length of time the appeal processes take. They told the Panel thatreasonable time limits should mark the steps in the appeals. These steps are:Lodging a review.Holding a review hearing.Reporting on the decision of the Review Committee.WCB Legislative Review Panel Report Page 44 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: The Appeals Tribunal must give the
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
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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
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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:
2. The legislation should be change
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Recommendations: 3.5.5 Time Limits
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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
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Glossary and DefinitionsAccident Fu
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Glossary and DefinitionsNet annualr
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WCB Legislative Review Panel Terms
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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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