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

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Respondents to the Stakeholder Questionnaire agreed there should be access to theminutes of the Board meetings. Respondents did think that access to certain confidentialor privileged matters, such as information about WCB personnel and legal advice, shouldbe withheld.Stakeholders said they knew there was access to information legislation that applied tothe WCB. They still thought the Acts should be changed to make it easier to accessinformation. The Panel agrees.Stakeholders also told the Panel about difficulties they encountered in gaining access tothe information held by the WCB about them. Whether this is an operational orlegislative issue is not clear. The Panel does not see any reason why a worker oremployer, or their authorized representative, should not have access to all the informationthe WCB holds about them.Recommendations: 3.10.1 Access to WCB Documents1. The legislation should be changed to enable access to WCB documents, with theexception of worker and employer files, information now protected in the Acts,information concerning personnel, and other confidential or privileged informationlike legal advice.2. The legislation should be reviewed to confirm there are no impediments to access bya worker or employer, or their authorized representative, to information about them orany dealings they are engaged in with the WCB.3.10.2 Access to Review Committee and Appeals Tribunal ReportsA number of stakeholders told the Panel that they wished to have access to reports ofReview Committees or the Appeals Tribunal. They indicated that it would help otherstakeholders preparing for reviews or appeals to know what had been decided in similarcases.WCB Legislative Review Panel Report Page 73 of 128December, 2001
Respondents to the Stakeholder Questionnaire generally agreed with this position.The Panel struggled with this issue, given our stand on transparency. We concluded thatthe appellant’s right to privacy outweighed the interests of others stakeholders. Reportsof Review Committees and Appeals Tribunals are available to appellants. It is up to theappellant to make it public or not.3.11 Financial PenaltiesThe Acts contains penalties for non-compliance ranging from time in jail to fines. ThePanel dealt only with financial penalties and fines. The amounts of these penalties havenot changed in many years.3.11.1 Authority to Set Financial PenaltiesThe Panel was asked to consider whether the Legislative Assemblies should continue toestablish financial penalties or whether that authority should be moved elsewhere. It waspointed out that the level of financial penalties has not changed in many years. Theamounts of penalties have not kept pace with those of other jurisdictions.The practice in other jurisdictions varies. In some cases, financial penalties are set inlegislation. In others, the WCB Board of Directors, Minister, or Cabinet prescribe theamount of financial penalties in regulation.The Panel feels that the instrument establishing financial penalties should be public.Regulations must be made public when they are prescribed. The Panel also believes theWCB Board of Directors is in the best position to keep up with trends in otherjurisdictions and relate them to the NWT/Nunavut workers’ compensation environment.WCB Legislative Review Panel Report Page 74 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
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The Legislative Review Directorate
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3.0 Workers’Compensation Acts3.1
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2.0 General ThemesDuring the course
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The Panel has generally adopted the
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The Panel did receive positive comm
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wanted was to return to work and st
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2. Are there workers in specific in
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Panel feels legislation should be p
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3.2 WCB Authority and Accountabilit
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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: 3.9.3 Authority to Make Investments
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 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 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
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2. The legislation should be change
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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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SUMMARY OF FORMAL PRESENTATIONS AND
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SUMMARY OF FORMAL PRESENTATIONS AND
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