Oshawa MPP Jennifer French (NDP) introduced a private member’s bill last Thursday aimed at closing loopholes in the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act “that penalize victims and their families”.
The Protecting Victims of Occupational Disease Act, 2015 (Bill 98) amends s. 43 by providing payments for loss of earnings for a worker who is no longer working at the time of contracting an occupational disease, with loss of earnings to determined as if the worker had still been working at the time of diagnosis.
The Bill would also amend s. 48 dealing with survivor benefits to address situations where a deceased worker was no longer working at the time of the injury, including at the time of contracting an occupational disease.