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Celebrating Injured Worker Speaker School success

April 20, 2016

Monday was Graduation and Speech night at Toronto’s Injured Workers’ Speakers School (IWSS). Fellow injured workers, colleagues, and clinic staff celebrated with 2016 Spring graduates: Ruben, Seeta, Julie, Mark, Jenny, Heidi. Organizing the event were IWSS facilitators Kate and Heather, Aidan and…

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A healthy relationship?

April 14, 2016

A recent U.S. study published by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (“Do Higher Fee Schedules Increase the Number of Workers’ Compensation Cases?” ) raises some interesting research questions for Canadian workers’ compensation systems, particularly in light of the austerity measures implemented…

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Challenges to Appeals Tribunal’s independence & expertise?

April 6, 2016

“Fair appeals for injured workers under threat, experts warn” / Sara Mojtehedzadeh (Toronto Star, Apr. 6, 2016) Workers’ compensation system is at a “critical moment” as backlogs and loss of expertise kick in at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT),…

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Websites for your injured workers group – social (justice) media

April 6, 2016

Even a small website helps you present your organization and its issues so users can easily find and share information. The right software can make it simple to add a blog, videos or photos, contact form or publications that can be downloaded.…

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PTSD compensation for first responders

April 6, 2016

“Ontario recognizes PTSD as work-related for first responders” / Rob Ferguson (Toronto Star, Apr. 5, 2016) With all-party support, Bill 163, Supporting Ontario’s First Responders Act (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder), 2016 was passed into law Tuesday. The amendment to the Workplace Safety and…

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Community support with income tax preparation

March 28, 2016

The deadline for most who are reporting 2015 personal income is fast approaching – April 30, 2106. Injured workers who need free help to file their income tax returns might wish to contact one of the many Volunteer Tax Preparation Clinics available…

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Time to change the austerity agenda?

March 28, 2016

For at least the last five years, the Ontario Government and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) have been operating the province’s workers compensation system with a clear cost-saving mandate. In large part, this has been in line with a…

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Union calls for end to age discrimination in workers’ compensation

March 25, 2016

“Older workers want ‘fairness’ – Sudbury union” / Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star, Mar. 22, 2016) When the government in 2006 abolished the mandatory retirement age of 65, it left other legislation tied to the former mandatory age to be dealt with at…

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WSIB’s new surveillance guideline still problematic

March 22, 2016

(Guest post by Maryth Yachnin and Ivana Petricone, IAVGO Community Legal Clinic) Through public concern, the work of the Human Rights Legal Challenges Working Group and the intervention of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the WSIB was convinced to revoke its previous…

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An important step, but more is needed to address mental health needs

March 22, 2016

In its “Submission” to the Standing Committee on Social Policy considering Bill 163, Injured Workers’ Consultants supports the amendment to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act adding a presumption that diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in first responders is work-related. It also…

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