IWC news

In the leadup to Injured Workers’ Day, our office is hosting an online roundtable discussion that will compare and contrast the challenges facing health & safety and workers’ compensation systems in the United States and Canada. The conversation will feature experts, advocates, activists, and injured workers from both countries, and will take place Friday March 31st at 1pm. Participants will include:

• Glenn Shor (Lecturer – University of California Berkeley)
• Orlando Buonastella (Community Legal Worker – IWC)
• Alec Farquar (Advocate)
• Steve Mantis (Injured Worker / Activist – Ontario Network of Injured Workers’ Groups)

This event is on zoom or call-in only (though we are hoping to have similar events in person in the future). Register here or visit tinyurl.com/May31Roundtable to get zoom/call-in information sent to your email.  

(** For updates on future events, sign up to IWC’s email list at http://tinyurl.com/IWCMailingList ).

The next monthly injured & ill worker meeting (which you can attend in person or by Zoom/telephone) will take place on Wednesday May 8th from 1pm to 3pm.

You will need to register if you want to attend online or by phone, and we also request that you register to attend in person as well so that we know how many people to prepare for.

As usual, the meeting will be split into two, with the first half containing an educational aspect and the second half being more interactive. You are welcome to join for just one section, or attend both. On the agenda: a history of June 1st, Injured Workers Day and the Injured Worker Story Project; discussion of the OFL’s Injured Workers’ Bill of Rights

If you are attending online or by phone, information on how to join on Zoom or by phone will be emailed to you after you register.

If you’re not able to join us on May 8th mark the next meeting (June 5th, 1pm to 3pm) in your calendars now, and keep an eye out for details closer to the date (sign up to IWC’s email list to get the most up-to-date information at tinyurl.com/IWCMailingList)

We are happy to announce that IWC is launching a new monthly hybrid meeting (in person and on zoom/telephone) that will combine the educational aspects of our Know Your Rights sessions with the social aspects, peer support, and group activities of an Injured Workers’ Group meeting.  

The meetings will usually take place on the second Wednesday of the month, from 1pm to 3pm. The first hour will include a “Know Your Rights” session, and the second will be a more informal, participatory meeting. You are welcome to join for one or both – we hope to see you at the first meeting this week on April 10.

There will be a few exceptions to the regular schedule throughout the year, so please sign up to IWC’s email list to get the most up-to-date information at tinyurl.com/IWCMailingList

– a champion of Ontario’s community legal system  and the clinics’ role in providing equal access to justice.

IWC joins with the community in honouring former Attorney General Roland Roy McMurtry’s “unparalleled legacy on justice, equality and democracy in Ontario”. Acknowledging his many accomplishments in furthering citizens’ human and constitutional rights, the Association of Community Legal Clinics of Ontario highlights also his pivotal role in “ensuring a robust network of community legal clinics charged with providing legal services for those with low incomes…”  Read the full ACLCO Tribute to Roy McMurtry

• Law Times (Mar. 20, 2024). “Roy McMurtry, Ontario’s former attorney general and chief justice, dies at 91: he is remembered as an advocate for legal aid, bilingualism in the courts, and social justice.”
• CBC News (Mar. 19, 2024).  “Former Ontario attorney general Roy McMurtry dead at 91: McMurtry, a major advocate for human rights, remembered as a ‘giant’ whose vision helped shape Canada.” 
• TVO Ontario (Mar. 19, 2024). “In memoriam: Remembering Roy McMurtry, one of Ontario’s most influential attorneys general.” 

Submission prepared for IWC’s presentation to the Standing Committee on Social Policy (Feb. 12) comments on proposed changes (benefit indexation, occupational disease reform) to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act in Schedule 4 of Bill 149, the Working for Workers Four Act. Clinic highlights that the strong financial position of the WSIB creates an opportunity for the government and the WSIB to fairly rebalance the workers’ compensation system with significant improvements in compensation for injured and ill workers. IWC makes specific recommendations on what should be also included in the Bill: restoration of the wage loss (LOE) benefits to 90% of net earnings; and, addressing poverty among older injured workers, restoration of the loss of retirement income (LRI) benefit to level of the Canada Pension Plan and ending the age 65-based termination of wage loss benefits.

Read full submission >

Download submission

The Ontario Government has recently introduced Bill 149, which it calls the Working for Workers Four Act, 2023. It is proposing changes to a number of labour laws, including the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, which makes the rules for how the WSIB operates.

The proposed changes are not necessarily bad. For example, Bill 149 would improve recognition of esophageal cancer in firefighters, and would give the government the ability (but not the obligation) to adjust injured workers benefits beyond the rate of inflation, if they ever felt like it. Injured & ill workers and their advocates, however, know that deeper changes are needed.

There will be public hearings by the Standing Committee on Social Policy in Committee Room 2 at Queen’s Park, Toronto, on Monday, February 12, 2024 and Tuesday, February 13, 2024. You can attend in person or watch live streaming online at https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/video/committees-room-2

IWC will be presenting with our friends at the Ontario Network of Injured Workers’ Groups (ONIWG) and the Thunder Bay and District Injured Workers’ Group on Monday February 12th around 3:00pm. Tuning in to view presentations from injured & ill workers and their allies will send a clear message to the Provincial Government that there is broad support for these causes, so please check it out if you are able. 

Some other presentations you may be interested in (which can be streamed live at the same link)
Occupational Disease Reform Association: Tuesday February 13th at 10am. 
IAVGO Legal Clinic: Tuesday February 13th at Noon.