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

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keeping with the objective of workers’ compensation. Since the Panel believes thissituation will occur infrequently, the Panel does not see assessing employers on anythingother than actual insurable payroll.The Panel agrees that the method of setting YMIR should be one that can respond tochanging conditions in a timely fashion. Section 52 obliges the WCB Board of Directorsto annually review the YMIR and make recommendations to the Minister. The Panelbelieves the Minister should have the authority to act on these recommendations andchange the YMIR if appropriate. Some stakeholders have suggested that those receivingfinancial compensation should be advised about the timing for recommendations to theMinister. This would enable them to offer advice to the WCB Board of Directors and/orthe Minister. This is an interesting suggestion and in keeping with the Panel’s views ontransparency. However, the Panel sees this as an operational issue for the WCB Board ofDirectors to address.Recommendations: 3.6.3 Year’s Maximum Insurable Remuneration (YMIR)1. The legislation should be changed to enable the Minister to prescribe the amount ofYMIR by regulation, on the advice of the WCB Board of Directors.2. The legislation should be changed to define a year’s minimum insurable remunerationand enable the Minister to prescribe this amount by regulation, on the advice of theWCB Board of Directors.3. It is suggested that the WCB Board of Directors review the current YMIR with aview to ensuring that it fairly reflects the of wages in the NWT/Nunavut.3.6.4 Special Purpose Financial CompensationThe Acts enable the payment of compensation, over and above financial compensationfor lost wages or impairment, for a number of special purposes. These include a clothingallowance, compensation to assist the injured worker in maintaining their quality of life,compensation for dependants and for funeral expenses (Sections 35, 51 and 53).WCB Legislative Review Panel Report Page 55 of 128December, 2001
The Acts are very specific in some instances – for example, pay an allowance up to $100a year to replace clothing damaged by a prosthesis or appliance. In others the legislationis very general – for example, make expenditures to assist in lessening any handicapresulting from a work-related injury.Stakeholders urged the Panel to recommend increases to the amount of compensation inthese special purpose areas. They also urged the Panel to recommend the application ofcommon sense and compassion in the interpretation of legislation or policy. Manystakeholders said they thought entitlements should be spelled out in legislation so theydid not have to go begging for compensation to pay for items such as cushions forwheelchairs.Other jurisdictions also provide for special purpose compensation. The basis forcalculation varies. The authority for setting the type and amount of special purposecompensation also varies. Some jurisdictions include certain compensation in legislation,others in regulation, and others in policy.The majority of respondents to the Stakeholder Questionnaire thought the allowance forclothing should be increased and the interpretation widened to include damage from othermedical equipment, such as wheelchairs.The Panel has said that it prefers to see legislation providing a framework for workers’compensation. The WCB Board of Directors should then establish policies within thatframework to implement the legislation in a manner that is directed toward the legislativepurpose. In keeping with that position, the Panel believes that the details of specialpurpose compensation for things like clothing allowances, funeral expenses, and qualityof life should be removed from legislation and established in policy.The Panel urges the WCB Board of Directors to carefully review the type and amount offinancial compensation for these purposes with a view to increasing compensation. TheWCB Legislative Review Panel Report Page 56 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
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: 3.6.3 Year’s Maximum Insurable Re
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
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While the Panel heard positive comm
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5. Operational versus Legislative I
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3. The legislation should be amende
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3. It is suggested that the first r
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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
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Recommendation: 3.12.4 Employer Rec
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Regulations (see also Recommendatio
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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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