Benefits

COVID-19: ONIWG calls for WSIB support

March 25, 2020

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board recently posted on their website how they make decisions on COVID-19 claims: that is, on a case-by-case basis. Today the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups (ONIWG) sent a letter to Premier Ford calling on the…

Continue Reading COVID-19: ONIWG calls for WSIB support

Injured workers don’t fake pain or poverty

March 23, 2020

In a recent article in social justice newspaper Tough Times, injured worker activist Catherine Fenech addresses the myth that continues to stigmatize: the misplaced idea that injured workers are somehow faking injuries to take advantage of “generous” workers’ compensation benefits. She…

Continue Reading Injured workers don’t fake pain or poverty

Research study on injured worker retirement income seeks participants

February 13, 2020

Participants are wanted for a University of Waterloo research study focusing on Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) policies and what they mean for injured workers’ retirement pensions, financial security, and well-being. The specific purpose of this study is to examine how…

Continue Reading Research study on injured worker retirement income seeks participants

Auditor General finds Ministry of Labour health & safety enforcement lacking

December 5, 2019

As an injured worker advocate, I see many workers in economic vulnerability and in precarious and unsafe working conditions. I see workers who think of their workplace injuries every day, who think about “what if the factory actually kept to their safety…

Continue Reading Auditor General finds Ministry of Labour health & safety enforcement lacking

What every injured worker needs to know

November 1, 2019

Where to start after your workplace injury or illness? Navigating Ontario’s workers’ compensation system can be stressful. The Ontario Legal Clinics’ Workers’ Compensation Network has recently prepared What Every Injured worker Needs to Know, ** a practical 24-page guide to help…

Continue Reading What every injured worker needs to know

Will your MPP vote to end deeming?

October 5, 2019

Will your MPP vote to end deeming? We have told you before about an important Private Members Bill that could stop deeming in its tracks and preserve the livelihood of thousands of injured workers in the province. Well, now you can see…

Continue Reading Will your MPP vote to end deeming?

Deeming as a violation of rights: submission to the UN

September 6, 2019

The U.N. Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities met in Geneva this week (4th and 5th of September) to consider reports on Canada’s compliance with the international Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The Ontario Network of…

Continue Reading Deeming as a violation of rights: submission to the UN

WCIAR – action tools to end deeming

August 27, 2019

The Workers’ Comp Is A Right (WCIAR) campaign has two new lobbying tools to end deeming and stop the cuts to legal aid. Deeming is when the WSIB pretends an injured worker has a job that they do not actually have, and…

Continue Reading WCIAR – action tools to end deeming

IWC submission to workers’ compensation board review

August 22, 2019

In its recent submission to the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board’s ongoing operational review, Injured Workers Community Legal Clinic (IWC) provides feedback informed by its knowledge of the on-the-ground reality of injured workers’ experiences when seeking support from the Board. Regarding financial…

Continue Reading IWC submission to workers’ compensation board review

Workers’ compensation concerns raised in the House

May 28, 2019

New Democrat Labour critic Wayne Gates (MPP – Niagara Falls) introduced Bill 119, Respecting Injured Workers Act (Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment), in the Legislative Assembly today. Intended to remedy the harmful Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) practice of deeming…

Continue Reading Workers’ compensation concerns raised in the House