The Jan. 31 2015 Toronto Star article “Meet the man injured Ontario workers ‘love to hate'” drew many comments on the Star’s website, and published letters to the editor:
- “WSIB destroys workers’ lives” (Hamilton Spectator, Feb. 9). Jeannie Howe, Southwestern Vice-President of the Ontario Network of Injured Workers’ Groups (ONIWG), reminds readers that while I. David Marshall takes credit for hiring 300 new staff, he let go 250 WSIB staff the previous year. She points to a system that favours employers and policies that focus on claims denial rather than injured worker recovery and return to work.
- “WSIB chief’s argument self-serving” (Toronto Star, Feb. 4). Lucio J. Vaccarello outlines just how the WSIB CEO has cut the unfunded liability – (reduced) benefits paid on the basis of “expected recovery” rather than “actual and medically supported recovery”; underfunding the Accident Fund through not raising employer premiums, by even the rate of inflation. Letter’s author notes a WSIB culture of disrespect or indifference towards injured worker claims.