Reports, Articles & Papers

The Meredith Act (Workers’ Compensation Act, 2025)

February 10, 2025

Proposed legislation developed by the Thunder Bay & District Injured Workers Support Group, along with ONIWG and allies, that is intended to replace Ontario’s current Workplace Safety and Insurance Act and make changes to ensure the fair compensation envisioned by the Meredith…

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What injured workers need: a community response

December 9, 2024

“A community response to WSIB’s $2.5 billion gift to employers” . There is no surplus until there is full compensation: the recent round of reckless payouts to employers must be cancelled until every injured worker’s basic needs are met. The demands in…

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Legal and adjudication principles still in place

March 13, 2023

Most if not all of these principles come from the humanitarian philosophy of the original compensation law. They are still in the law today BUT, they are not fully or often not partially applied by a WSIB that “looks to deny”: remedial…

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ONIWG: The WSIB’s annual indexing rate / cost-of-living adjustment rip-off for 2022

May 10, 2022

Annual indexing is supposed to protect injured workers against the effects of inflation over time by gradually increasing injured workers’ wage-loss benefits. Presentation to the Thunder Bay & District Injured Workers’ Tuesday meeting discusses the purpose, the law and impact of WSIB’s…

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Experiences, impacts and service needs of injured workers in the WSIB process – research brief

November 30, 2021

The purpose of this research, led by Dr Rebecca Scharfe and funded by Injured Workers Community Legal Clinic, was to describe the experiences and mental health needs of injured and ill Northwestern Ontario workers in the WSIB process, in order to promote…

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Platform for Change (draft revision)

September 17, 2021

Revision of the document presented at the 2004 Platform for Change details requirements for a just compensation system based on Meredith Principles.…

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Phantom jobs, Empty Pockets

May 22, 2019

What really happens to workers with work-acquired permanent injuries unable to get back to their jobs? Using WSIB’s own documents, the ONIWG report explores the poverty-creating effects of the Board’s practice of deeming and proposes solutions.…

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What every injured worker needs to know: a guide for navigating the WSIB process

January 15, 2019

Practical 24-page guide for the Ontario injured worker provides an overview of the workers’ compensation claims process and WSIB benefits, plus what you should do while you wait (how to replace income, cooperation with the Board, medical treatment, return to work) and…

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Quick tips: Workers’ compensation in Ontario (WSIB)

January 15, 2019

Advice for injured workers applying for workers’ compensation.…

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Workers’ compensation: morality versus the business case

November 23, 2018

Plain language summary by Dana Howse of her doctoral thesis ‘Injured Workers’ Moral Engagement in the Compensation System: The Social Production of Problematic Claiming Experience’ with commentary by ONIWG RAC.…

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