Excerpt from the OH&S Canada Magazine
Legislated changes to employee benefits, along with poor investment returns, have caused the unfunded liability of Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to skyrocket more than $2 billion.
The WSIB’s annual report for 2007, released just in October, shows the liability grew from $5.997 billion in 2006 to $8.094 billion in 2007.
Bill 187, affecting the benefits for 155,000 workers, saw payments increase by 2.5 per cent; Bill 221, which ensures firefighters are compensated for work-related cancers and heart attacks, was made retroactive to 1960. Together, the moves increase benefits by $750 million.