CALL-ACAMS Newsletter - April 2005

Legislative/Political Changes

WCB in Manitoba
Last year, the NDP government in Manitoba did a series of province-wide public consultation hearings on the Workers Compensation Act. They heard hundreds of submissions, many from workers about the challenges they faced while trying to get benefits from the WCB system. 

One of the most interesting submissions came from two employees with the exact same injury and surgical intervention, but with one key difference. One was injured before the Conservative Filmon Government significantly amended the WCB Act in the early 1990s, and the other was injured after the changes. The second claimant received a mere fraction of the benefits the other received. 

A "short list" of 100 recommendations has now been sent to the provincial government by the Review Committee. The majority of the recommendations are "worker friendly", so it is anticipated that there will be much gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands by the usual suspects on the management side.

Once the government has determined which recommendations it wants to pursue, a shorter "short list" will be sent out for another round of consultations. There are currently no dates attached to the process.

A cynic would say that this gives the government of the day the ability to say they are studying the legislation actively, without actually doing anything anytime soon.

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