I was asked to participate in the AWCBC Learning Symposium
in St. John, NB a few weeks ago. I
accepted the offer in part because I believe strongly in the purpose of the
event. Every board has employee training
programs for staff and orientation programs for directors. These are essential to good governance and
effective administration. What the
Learning Symposium does is provide cross-jurisdictional consistency and
exposure to concepts, issues and challenges that go beyond the basics.
This year’s event was a celebration of the legacy Canadian
workers’ compensation boards received from Sir William Meredith. A hundred years ago, Meredith submitted a report to the Ontario government that
set the course for workers’ compensation in Canada. You can get a lot of background from http://meredithcentennial.ca/ , a
website created by AWCBC.
My first presentation was on the evolution of workers’
compensation in Canada. My approach to
the topic started as you might expect, with the situation Meredith faced. I departed from the predictable decade by
decade recount of developments that got us to where we are today. Instead, I built on a theme developed by
Professor Terence Ison, the preeminent legal minds in workers’ compensation
law. (He literally wrote the book, Workers’ Compensation in
Canada). I was fortunate to hear his lecture at a
similar AWCBC event nearly 20 years ago in Edmonton. His approach was to take some of the key
issues of the day and explore them from the perspective of Meredith some eighty
years earlier.
My approach was similar. What would Meredith say about scope
of coverage, causation, level of benefits, mandatory reinstatement, funding and
opening the system to competition? Ison
expressed his view based on his extensive knowledge and experience as a legal
expert, chair of a workers’ compensation board, and author of dozens of
reports, books and articles. I was able
to add my perspective based on developments in recent years since his
presentation.
My second presentation was with H. Allan Hunt and addressed
the issue of Performance Measurement. I
first met Allan in the early 1990s as he and Peter Barth conducted an
Administrative Inventory of workers’ compensation in British Columbia. Over the years, he revisited WorkSafeBC and
critically examined its progress, identified attention points, and made
emphatic statements about action was needed.
His expertise was called upon in reviews in Australia and Ontario. It was an honour to share the podium with him
and present the case for effective performance measurement in workers’
compensation. It was gratifying to hear
his assessment of WorkSafeBC’s performance as being worthy of being counted
among the best.
My final presentation was at the request of the organizers
of the event. They asked that I speak
about the future. They gave me the title
“Rethinking the workers’ compensation model and the future”. Again, Terence Ison provided a fabulous
starting point. His article, “Reflections on Workers' Compensation and
Occupational Health & Safety" [(2013)
26 C.J.A.L.P. 1-22 ]describes… “The decline of Workers’ Compensation…and
reasons for that decline…”
I described the current business model and the key role experience
rating plays. Ison is not the only
critic of the current system but he is among the very few knowledgeable,
informed critics we ought to listen to.
I offered the audience my response to Ison’s criticisms and described ways
forward that address his concerns while maintaining the essential features of
the current model.
I get requests to participate in many events; so, why did I
choose to participate in this one? I
attended because learning matters. Research shows that the lack of knowledge of case managers is a
significant concern of injured workers and advocates. I have had the benefit of years of
mentorship, WorkSafeBC’s support in taking courses, and external practice in
system evaluations. I have been
permitted to attend AWCBC and similar events and bring what I learned back to
my colleagues. The AWCBC Learning
Symposium was an opportunity to give something back, to support the fabulous
roster of presenters, and to present ideas that I truly believe can help shape
the future and sustain Sir William Meredith’s legacy. More importantly, I wanted to support a
tradition of learning and sharing that sustains an effective system of
prevention and compensation –a system consistent with the principles put
forward by Sir William—for employers, workers, survivors and dependents.
