WSIB welcomes feedback in Ontario

Funding review looks at premium rate setting, rate groups, employer incentives

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) will be holding seven days of public hearings in Ontario in April as part of a consultation process.

The WSIB Funding Review wants to hear from workers, labour, employers and the public on a range of public policy issues relating to the WSIB's financial future, including a plan on how to address unfunded liability.

Key areas being considered under the review include: funding, premium rate setting, rate groups, employer incentives, funding of occupational disease claims and indexation for partially disabled workers.

The WSIB administers no-fault, collective liability insurance for Ontario employers and their workers. It collects premiums from employers to pay the current and future costs of claims. Ideally, revenue should be equal to or greater than the actual costs of the system, however, the amount of money collected from employers and the income from the WSIB's investments has been less than the cost of funding the system. This shortfall has resulted in an unfunded liability that was about $11.7 billion as of December 2009.

More than 100 organizations or individuals have registered for the public hearings in Hamilton, London, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Toronto and Windsor. Further information is available at www.wsibfundingreview.ca.

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