Gates says WSIB should benefit workers, slams Ford for eroding it again

NIAGARA FALLS — NDP MPP Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls), the Official Opposition critic for Worker’s Health and Safety, said Doug Ford should not just gift the surplus money accumulated by the Workers Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to corporations — but, instead, use it to help injured workers.

“The Ford government is looking for ways to shrink and erode WSIB again,” said Gates. “The Ford government and the Liberals before them made deep cuts to the WSIB. It’s already hard for injured workers to get the help they deserve. Now, it looks like Ford is planning to make the system even more barebones by giving surplus money to big corporations, instead of making sure it’s there for injured workers.”

According to the Ontario Network of Injured Workers, injured workers experienced nearly four times the poverty rate in Ontario.

Meanwhile, repeated cuts to WSIB benefits make it so tough to get adequate financial help through the agency, Ford has been able to scrap unfunded liability, and now has a surplus in the WSIB fund, which he’s considering just signing over to employers.

“Legitimately injured workers are getting less and less help from the WSIB,” said Gates. “It is obscene that injured workers, mistreated for years to meet the financial goals of the WSIB, would not be the very first consideration for support in the event of any surplus.

“I’m calling on the Ford government to direct the WSIB to fulfil its core mandate to ensure adequate, fair compensation for injured workers. This would include passing my bill, the Respecting Injured Workers Act, which would end the discriminatory practice of deeming — which cuts WSIB supports to injured workers based on fictional jobs bureaucrats deem them capable of doing in their injured state.”