THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay & District Injured Workers Support Group is bringing forward three issues ahead of the province's pre-budget consultations.
The Thunder Bay & District Injured Workers Support Group in partnership with the Thunder Bay Health Coalition hosted a media conference to share their presentations and issues they would like to raise to the Ontario Legislative Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs virtually as part of the pre-budget consultations.
The government legislative committee on finance and economic affairs holds these pre-budget consultations for the annual budget put forward by the provincial government.
Pre-pandemic, the consultations would be held in person. Now, these are held virtually, and Jan.10 was the first day of virtual hearings that will go on for the next three weeks to gather, the opinion of both citizens and organizations across Ontario, about how the provincial government should manage their budget in the next fiscal year.
In his 28-page presentation submitted to the Ontario Legislative Standing Committee, Steve Mantis, Thunder Bay & District Injured Workers Support Group treasurer, and chair of the Research Action Committee Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups, featured three issues he would like to raise.
“The first is that there's a growing gap in income inequality in Ontario and right across Canada. That's not news to anybody. Everyone knows that the rich are getting richer and the rest of us are lagging, and during the pandemic we've seen many corporations making major profits, record profits in some cases, while the rest of us were really bearing up under the burden of this health crisis,” said Mantis.
“The second point is this growing gap in income inequality has a negative effect on our democratic process or democratic society, including the reduction in public services. And the third point is that we can address this issue through taxation and through management by the government.”
The Thunder Bay & District Injured Workers Support Group also stated that injured workers who were cut off from WSIB benefits, while still disabled, must rely on publicly funded health care to cover all medical costs and publicly-funded support programs for income assistance and support; costs that should be covered by the WSIB.
According to the Thunder Bay & District Injured Workers Support Group there are significant costs being added to the provincial budget because of government changes that have relieved employers of responsibility for the health and safety of their workers.
“Ultimately, the Workmen’s Compensation Act, now known as the Workplace Safety & Insurance Act, was created to take care of workers who were injured, made sick or killed in their workplace. In exchange employers were protected from lawsuits” said Janet Paterson, President of the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups.
“The WSIB has not fulfilled that responsibility and has offloaded those costs to the public purse.”
The provincial government is exploring legislative changes that would allow distribution of surpluses under the WSIB program back to employers.
The plan came after the WSIB in 2019 eliminated its unfunded liability – the gap between projected future costs and current funds. The unfunded liability rose as high as $14.2 billion in 2011.
if you want to share your thoughts with the government, visit this website for more information.
