Recent documents are in both PDF and html formats but all may be available in alternate formats on request.
Submission to the Ontario Ombuds Office
Following up on the overwhelming response to the report “Prescription Over-ruled”, health professionals, workers, legal advocates and labour groups call for a full investigation by the Ontario Ombuds Office of the WSIB for systematic disregard of the medical advice provided by doctors treating injured workers, in favour of so-called “paper doctors” who have not met […]
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Intervener factum, Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal, et al. v. Fraser Health Authority, et al.
In their submission to Supreme Court case addressing issues of causation and Workers Compensation Appeals Tribunal jurisdiction, IAVGO and ONIWG argue that scientific certainty is not required (and in fact definitive scientific evidence on work-related causation rarely exists). Decisions should be based on the best available evidence and the balance of probabilities standard established under […]
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Open letter to the Minister of Labour
A forthright message to the Minister on just why injured workers feel so betrayed after government promises that the unfunded liability would not be solved on the backs of injured workers.
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Please make CPP fair for Ontario’s workers
Letter to the Prime Minister asks the federal government to address a gap in the Canada Pension Plan by requiring workers’ compensation boards to make CPP contributions on behalf of those unable to because of workplace injury. As it currently stands, many injured workers receive a much reduced pension on turning 65. This particularly impacts […]
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Re New WSIB President
Letter asks the Premier to include injured workers in the selection process for a new President of the WSIB, and proposes the ideal qualities that would make a candidate a “good fit”.
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Submission re Bill 109, Employment and Labour Statute Amendment Act 2015
Many of the injured workers IWC assists are women, immigrants, and work in non-union or precarious employment situations. The Clinic supports the bill’s proposed amendment to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (s.22) which would target direct and indirect claims suppression but suggests it does not adequately address the range of indirect inducements by employers […]
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Submissions to the WSIB Rate Framework Reform Consultation
Ignoring the recommendations of the Expert Panel on Occupational Health & Safety and the Arthurs Report, the Proposed Rate Framework would make claims experience the main driver of premium rates for all Schedule I employers. Inconsistent with the Act, the framework proposes to use experience rating for insurance equity purposes. The ERWG recommends abandoning the […]
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Letter re Doctor fired over medical opinion
With reference to the Toronto Star Sep. 23 article, Bright Light’s letter applauds the medical consultant who refused to change her medical opinion and oppose the claim of an injured worker. Given the frequency of WSIB medical reports opposing claims, the Group calls on the Premier to hold a public inquiry.
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Bright Lights submission on Rate Framework
Bright Lights believes that the proposed rate framework is still an experience rating system, and does nothing to address the concerns outlined in ONIWG’s submission. Includes a collection of stories about how experience rating has affected some of the group’s members, and impact of the new scheme.
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From Experience Rating to Rating Experience
ONIWG Submission to the WSIB Rate Framework Consultation expresses disappointment, given the impact of experience rating on injured workers, that the proposal is to move from a one type of experience rating to another – in a way that entrenches employer incentives for claim suppression even further.
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