• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Injured Workers Online

Injured Workers Online

Working Together for Justice

  • Blog
  • Sign Up
  • About
  • Twitter
Working Together for Justice
  • Workers’ Compensation
    • History
    • Law Reform
    • Workers’ compensation bills
    • Chronic Pain Victory
    • Research and Education
    • Bancroft Institute
    • Meredith Conference: “No-Half Measures”
    • RAACWI
  • Issues
    • Appeals
    • Benefits
    • Experience Rating
    • Funding
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Return to Work
    • Stigma and surveillance
    • Universal Coverage
  • Community
    • Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups (ONIWG)
    • Workers’ Comp Is a Right campaign
    • Injured Worker Groups
    • IW Speakers School
    • Injured Workers’ Stories
    • Organizing and Action
    • Arts & social justice
  • Events
    • Calendar View
    • RSI Awareness Day
    • Day of Mourning
    • Justice Bike Ride
    • Injured Workers Day
    • December demo
    • Labour Day – a workers’ festival
  • Media
    • In the News
    • Press Releases
    • Fact Sheets
    • Headlines on workers’ compensation
    • Videos
  • Resources
    • Law and Policy Submissions
    • Reports, Articles & Papers
    • Practical guides & booklets
    • IWHP Bulletins
    • Library
    • Find Legal Help
    • Links
Home / Blog / Benefits / Deeming / Injured workers don’t fake pain or poverty

Injured workers don’t fake pain or poverty

March 23, 2020

Article on stigma and deeming of injured workers in Tough Times 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 asks if 2020 will finally be the year that the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) gets rid of deeming, a practice based on the worst stereotypes of injured workers which assume that they are lazy and don’t want to work. “Because of deeming, injured workers who are unable to get a job live in poverty on meagre benefits, which can be even lower than social assistance rates. Some end up on social assistance but others receive just enough from WSIB that they are excluded from receiving any top up from social assistance. The one thing that is certain is that deeming unfairly causes poverty for injured workers….. ” In 2019 Wayne Gate introduced Bill 119 to eliminate deeming – call on your MPP to support this Bill when it comes up for second reading in the Legislature. [Read full article]

Connecting injured workers

President of the Peel Injured Workers group and regional VP of the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups (ONIWG), Catherine reminds all that  as well as sharing information on navigating and improving the workers’ compensation system, injured worker support groups play another very important role – that of  letting injured workers know “that they are not alone and that others out there know what your are going through.”

While group meetings are temporarily on hold because of COVID-19, many connect to injured workers also through social media. Check out ONIWG Facebook, public discussion and Twitter and links to other injured worker groups. (Note: To protect member privacy, some groups require a sign up)
 

Filed Under: Deeming, In the News, Injured workers, Stigma

Primary Sidebar

Latest Tweets

Injuredworkersonline Follow

IWO_org
Injuredworkersonline @iwo_org ·
15 Mar

Then & Now: Technology and the changing hazards in mining https://www.thesafetymag.com/ca/topics/technology/then-now-technology-and-the-changing-hazards-in-mining/439237#.ZBH4wPPGS2M.twitter

Reply on Twitter 1636048781316882432 Retweet on Twitter 1636048781316882432 Like on Twitter 1636048781316882432 1 Twitter 1636048781316882432
Injuredworkersonline @iwo_org ·
15 Mar

Bill C-224 Cancer legislation reaches important milestone in Canadian Parliament https://www.iaff.org/news/cancer-legislation-reaches-important-milestone-in-canadian-parliament/

Reply on Twitter 1636048154285215745 Retweet on Twitter 1636048154285215745 Like on Twitter 1636048154285215745 1 Twitter 1636048154285215745
Injuredworkersonline @iwo_org ·
15 Mar

Ontario roofing company fined after man not wearing fall protection killed in fall while working on a school portable - OHS Canada MagazineOHS Canada Magazine https://www.ohscanada.com/ontario-roofing-company-fined-110k-after-man-killed-in-fall-while-working-on-a-school-portable/

Reply on Twitter 1636047273758199809 Retweet on Twitter 1636047273758199809 Like on Twitter 1636047273758199809 3 Twitter 1636047273758199809
Load More...

Footer

Stay connected – get our blog updates
Copyright © 2023 Injured Workers Online
  • Accessibility
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy

The information in this website is for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for legal advice. For legal advice, see Find legal help