McGuinty’s choice of WSIB Chair called a betrayal.
from the Ontario Network of Injured Worker Groups
The Ontario Network of Injured Worker Groups (ONIWG) held an emergency meeting April 30
as a result of Premier McGuinty’s choice of Elizabeth Witmer as the new Chair of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. ONIWG is the umbrella organization representing local injured worker groups across Ontario.
“McGuinty has betrayed injured workers for political gain.” said Karl Crevar, Treasurer of ONIWG.“Elizabeth Witmer is responsible for the mess our workers’ compensation is in today and McGuinty put her in charge of the WSIB? I feel the Premier has betrayed the injured workers of Ontario.”
Witmer was the Minister of Labour during the Harris government, which reduced employers’ WSIB rates by about 30 percent between 1996 and 2001. During the recent WSIB Funding Review by labour arbitrator Harry Arthurs, the WSIB acknowledged that if employer rates had been left at 1996 levels, the WSIB’s unfunded liability would have been eliminated by 2006. The unfunded liability is now about $12 billion. Although this issolely the result of employers not paying enough premiums, injured workers are now being forced to pay
through benefit cuts.
As Labour Minister for the Harris government, in 1997 Witmer brought in major changes to the
workers’ compensation system known as Bill 99. At the time, Liberal MPP Dwight Duncan called the bill“draconian” and “a backward step”.
Symbolically, the bill removed “workers” and “compensation” from the name of the Board and brought private insurance industry practices into the system. Benefit levels were reduced, cost of living adjustments were virtually eliminated, compensation for workplace stress was eliminated and the formerly independent Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal was required to apply WSIB policy.
[pulquote]“Bill 99 privatized vocational rehabilitation. From then on, all the money went to private service providers.”[/pulquote]
“Bill 99 privatized vocational rehabilitation” said Peter Page, ONIWG President. “From then on, all the money went to private service providers. Injured workers got second rate training in fly-by-night schools and employers would not hire them….We fought Witmer’s privatized system for more than 10 years. We finally convinced the WSIB to cancel the privatized services last year, and now she’s back!”
A 2009 study by KPMG of the WSIB Labour Market Re-entry Program found that one and a half years after successful completion of a WSIB training program, a little over 50 percent of the graduates remained unemployed although their WSIB benefits had been cut on
completion of the training.
“Since Witmer brought in Bill 99, poverty has risen dramatically for injured workers. We did a survey of injured workers recently. We found an 80 percent drop in full time employment after injury, nearly half had to give up their homes and 30 percent were relying on food banks.
"All this comes as a result of the changesbrought in by Witmer and Harris. You can imagine how injured workers feel to see Elizabeth Witmer appointed to head up the WSIB,” said Steve Mantis, Secretary of ONIWG.
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