News from our Members

The Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (WSCC) has announced that the average employer assessment rate or base rate will remain at the same level as last year.

Employers must have plans to protect workers from impacts related to severe weather, natural disasters, and other emergencies. In response to another severe weather event yesterday — which caused flooding, evacuations, power outages, and road closures — WorkSafeBC is reminding employers of their obligations to be prepared for emergencies, including planning for evacuation, rescue, and re-entry, when safe to do so.

The Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC) is seeking public input on a proposal to change how pension benefits are calculated for workplace injuries.

Under the present system, workers receive lifetime pension benefits if they have a workplace injury that results in a lasting loss of function after medical treatment or rehabilitation efforts are complete. This is known as a permanent medical impairment. The amount each individual receives is calculated soley based on the percentage of impairment they experience as a result of the injury and what they were earning at the time the injury happened.

The Province has appointed Saeed El-Darahali as the new Chair of WCB Nova Scotia.

Mr. El-Darahali is President and CEO of SimplyCast, a Dartmouth-based technology company. He has more than 15 years of leadership experience and was named one of Atlantic Canada’s top 50 CEOs in 2020 by Atlantic Business Magazine. Mr. El-Darahali is currently Chair of the board of the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia and a director of EduNova Cooperative Ltd.

Effective January 1, 2022, WorkplaceNL will hold the average assessment rate paid by employers at $1.69 per $100 of payroll, including a temporary $0.21 average discount.

Seventy-three percent of employers will have no change or a lower annual assessment rate and 27 per cent of employers will have a higher rate in 2022. This compares to 43 per cent having no change or a lower rate and 57 per cent having a higher rate in 2021.

After more than a year and a half of working in a mix of at-home and on-site scenarios, WCB Nova Scotia will be moving to a hybrid working model for the longer term. When the pandemic forced closure of all public buildings in early 2020, WCB Nova Scotia employees, enabled by technology, quickly and seamlessly moved to deliver service remotely.

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) announced today during its Annual General Meeting (AGM), that the average premium rate for Ontario businesses will be reduced by 5.1% for 2022, from $1.37 to $1.30. The announcement comes after the WSIB held 2021 premium rates at the same level as the previous year, in an effort to support businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic.

After years of working from a place of financial imbalance, Nova Scotia’s workers’ compensation system is approaching financial sustainability as WCB Nova Scotia ended 2020 in a long-awaited improved financial position.