Law & Policy Submissions

ONIWG response to WSIB appeals “modernization”

September 28, 2012

In detailed critique, ONIWG charges that proposed changes, including increased bureaucratic complexity, “downside risk” threat and restrictions on oral hearings, actively discourage injured workers from filing appeals.…

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Submissions – WSIB Appeals Modernization Consultation

September 27, 2012

Brief disputes the Consultation paper’s analysis of the reason for the appeals backlog, attributing it rather to a change in Operations-level decision-making that arises from upper management’s decision to control benefits without policy change. Details concerns with limiting oral hearings and downside…

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Letters on the Benefits policy consultation process

September 18, 2012

IWC letter to the Minister of Labour points to the steamroller of change driven by the WSIB management and the need for adequate timeframe to prepare submissions for genuine consultation; attached to letter from ONIWG to chair Jim Thomas on tight timelines,…

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Submission on the proposed changes to the appeal system

September 18, 2012

Letter to the Minister of Labour, with submission to the Board, highlights concerns over the downside risk waiver, complexity of forms, and proposal to limit oral hearings. Group calls for the Board to keep the process simple and address backlog in better…

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Submission re Proposed changes to the Appeals program

September 3, 2012

Lawyer, with over 36 years’ experience representing injured workers, provides historical context for Ontario’s appeal system and, noting the backlog is a crisis of the Board’s own making, delivers a strong critique of proposed changes. In particular, letter addresses the use of…

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Presentations to Agency review: Workplace Safety and Insurance Board

July 4, 2012

Transcript of presentations by legal advocates and injured workers to the Standing Committee on Government Agencies which address changes to workers’ compensation policies and practices that attack fairness. These include increased claims denial, appeals process, cost-cutting on the backs of workers, deeming,…

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Re Ignoring Professor Arthurs’ quest for fairness for the injured

June 7, 2012

In open letter to the premier, ONIWG responds to the recently announced 2013/2014 cost of living adjustments of 0.5% which, being below the expected inflation rate, means a real reduction in benefits. This runs counter to Arthurs’ recommendation of full COLA.…

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Submission re: KPMG Value for Money Audit (on claims adjudication and administration)

January 31, 2012

Clinics’ Network critiques the KPMG report for providing a flawed analysis, exceeding the mandate of an independent value for money audit and making policy recommendations based on their misunderstanding of Ontario workers’ compensation law and legal principles. It calls on the Premier…

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Re: Why the KPMG report on adjudication is so upsetting

December 13, 2011

Clinic details objections to a poorly-researched paper by the external consulting company that advocates disbanding the key tenets of Ontario’s workers compensation system.…

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Additional submission to Professor Harry Arthurs regarding indexation of benefits

November 18, 2011

In applauding the provisional report’s statement that the restoration of full indexing is a matter of urgency and fundamental fairness, the organizations call for ongoing improvements to catch-up indexing and restitution of past losses through a corrective Friedland formula for annual adjustments.…

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