Is It Going to Work?

In the last issue of ABILITIES, we featured an interview with Glen Wright, the newly appointed chairperson of the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) of Ontario. By Mr. Wright’s own open admission, the WCB has been plagued with systemic problems for years, and distrusted by many in the community of injured workers.

In last issue’s feature, Mr. Wright described to Canadian Abilities Foundation Chairperson Patrick Watson his plans to overhaul the troubled Ontario WCB and set it, finally, on the right track. But Mr. Wright also expected the restructuring would be met with cynicism.

"What we have to do," he stated in the interview, "is get our credibility back, one day at a time, with actions."

We invited readers to react to this interview and make their views known; the response we received was mixed. We include here some of the feedback that was submitted to our office.


A FRONT-LINE OPPORTUNITY

I read your interview by Patrick Watson in ABILITIES magazine with great interest. I am one of those many thousands, I presume, who are having serious delivery problems. I applied for compensation but have been met with no end of red tape, and a downright put off.

I am appalled at the inhuman treatment I have been afforded. It is bad enough to be sick and have your life’s work curtailed through no fault of your own, but then to be further victimized by the very bureaucracy that is supposed to be compensating me is a grave miscarriage of our democratic system, that reduces us to Third World status.

I was impressed with your interview, and hope you can implement the changes you refer to. Here is a front-line opportunity to prove your sincerity!

Allen Kirk
North Gower, Ontario


SENSE OF OPTIMISM

The series of policy objectives leading the new structure and model Mr. Wright seeks provides me with a greater sense of present and future optimism for the entire community served by the Ontario WCB.

The high cost of work injuries makes it imperative for the WCB Chair and Executive to create new structures, teams, service standards and resource focus. WCB expertise in many different industrial (including construction) areas will be re-applied. An injured worker should welcome a government customer service approach, businesslike and technologically armed.

Following sound financial practice and with improved information systems, regional head, local managers, injured workers and everyone else in between can work together and create positively managed outcomes for injury claims.

Morley Minuk
LDA Group
Toronto, Ontario



NO ROSY PICTURE

I doubt [Glen Wright’s] appointment presents a rosy picture. Glen Wright got the job because he is a friend of [Ontario Premier] Mike Harris and an insurance businessman. He envisions the WCB as a business. He will, undoubtedly, make it harder for injured workers to get compensation.

The Union of Injured Workers is concerned that the new bill will gut the WCB. They have spoken out repeatedly about this and point out that it will be harder to apply for compensation when a worker gets injured.

Judy Koch
Toronto, Ontario



THANKS FOR CARING

First of all, I would like to thank Mr. Patrick Watson for holding an interview with Mr. Glen Wright, the new Chair of WCB.

Frankly I was impressed with the questions that Mr. Watson asked. On the other hand, the answers given by Mr. Wright to me initially seemed to be a breath of fresh air. However, because I have been an injured worker busily engaged in the pursuit of justice since 1981, it is impossible to accept anyone’s word that all is going to be well for injured workers in the future under Bill 99.

I have lived a life of trauma ever since I was injured, and I assure you it is nearly impossible to rise above the emotional scars from which I suffer as a result of the inhuman treatment unfairly imposed upon myself and my family for so many years. Fifty-one per cent of my anger I attribute to attitudes and actions of my employer. The remainder comes to rest on the WCB or others whose contributions have added to my suffering.

I have embarked upon a publicity campaign to organize, publicize and expose the despicable treatment that has been imposed upon so many thousands of one-time gainfully employed good citizens. There are thousands of horror stories to be told of the hardships that have been the lot of Ontario’s injured. More importantly is the fact that corporate compensation costs have been and are being imposed upon Ontario’s taxpayers, every time an injured worker and their family are relegated to the welfare rolls.

My major thrust will be to organize a class-action lawsuit against anyone and everyone who has played a role in the deprivation of lawful entitlements for injured workers and their families. I am personally searching for community organizations that will support us in laying criminal charges against negligent employers whose duty it is under the Criminal Code to make workplaces safe. There are no time limits for laying charges under the Criminal Code.

Thanks for caring about the disabled injured workers in our communities across Canada.

Paul V. Gibson
Injured Workers and Taxpayers Justice Foundation
Hamilton, Ontario
Hotline: (905) 524-2002


BLEAK FUTURE?

It seems that Mr. Wright believes there are a few individuals who are subverting the rights of injured workers at the WCB. The reality we face each day at our office indicates that the opposite is true. Our office is located in the same mall as the Hamilton WCB office, and we have a steady stream of abused injured workers coming through our doors.

If Mr. Wright believes that the problem is solely systemic, I will remind him that it is individuals who make these decisions, or indecisions, which lead to the systemic abuse of injured workers across the province.

WCB adjudicators have complained to me that many of their decisions that would be helpful to injured workers have been overruled by WCB management, since his administration was brought in. His friend Mike Harris’ plans will take the abuse of injured workers to a new low with his new WCB legislation (Bill 99).

The future for injured workers in Ontario is a bleak one, unfortunately. If the government passes Bill 99, fewer injuries will be covered, benefits will be reduced and the most severely disabled will be hit the hardest. And, of course, the taxpayers will have to further subsidize business.

Using the WCB’s own inflation predictions, injured workers will lose 40 per cent of their buying power over 20 years (using the new De-Indexing formula). Retirement benefits for older injured workers will be cut in half. No educational rehabilitation -- so no job. It will guarantee poverty for the poorest of the poor. So much for justice.

If Glen Wright and his pal Mike Harris were serious about helping injured workers, they would not be implementing policies that guarantee injured workers abuse. Instead they would be improving the treatment of injured workers, and assisting the thousands of victims that the system has already created.

Vern Peter, President
Hamilton and District Injured Workers Group
Hamilton, Ontario


Future issues of ABILITIES will further examine the issues faced by injured workers across Canada. To contribute your perspective, write to: ABILITIES, 489 College St., Ste. 501, Toronto, Ontario, M6G 1A5, or fax to: (416) 923-9829.