Critics say TV campaign prioritizes board’s image over injured workers
Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) is defending an $855,000 advertising campaign that critics say prioritizes reputation over support for injured workers.
The provincial agency launched two five-week television campaigns featuring fictional workers returning to their jobs after injuries.
The current campaign costs $455,000, while a previous campaign in late 2024 cost roughly $400,000, according to CBC News.
Union questions WSIB spending
The union representing the agency’s 3,800 workers is challenging the expenditure. Harry Goslin, president of OCEU/CUPE 1750, told CBC that the advertisements serve little purpose for an organisation that holds a monopoly on workplace injury coverage in Ontario.
“WSIB is the sole provider if you’re covered under the Workplace Safety Insurance Act,” Goslin said. “It’s not like, if you become unfortunately injured or ill on the job, that you get to shop around where you’re going to go.”
The union leader suggested the funds could address more pressing concerns.
“Surely, this money could be better used to improve staffing levels, which would improve call wait times, speed to allowance for a claim, speed up access to health care, speed up return to work, all good things like that,” he said.
Agency defends campaign
Aaron Lazarus, WSIB’s vice-president of communications, defended the spending as necessary to inform workers and employers about available services. The agency provides $2.5 billion annually in income support and health-care costs for injured workers.
“This is a fraction of a fraction of that, and it’s a responsible approach to make sure that people understand what the organization is and what we do,” he told CBC News.
Lazarus emphasised that Ontario business premiums, rather than taxpayer dollars, fund the campaign. “We have a responsibility to deliver value for that,” he said.
Employers in Ontario are facing higher stakes and more penalties under new amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 (WSIA) – particularly when it comes to reporting workplace injuries and health and safety compliance.
Politicians criticize spending choices
NDP Shadow Minister for WSIB MPP Lise Vaugeois (Thunder Bay – Superior North) also criticized the campaign, saying, “Injured workers need justice, not costly ad campaigns.”
In an NDP online post, Vaugeois said, “WSIB is clearly aware it has a reputational problem, but this is not a communications failure. It is a deep and systemic failure.”
The post talked about the compensation system not being a pool of money for businesses but a trust for injured workers and their families.
“Yet, the Ford government boasts about returning billions to employers, money that should have supported people who were hurt at work and suffered real financial and personal loss. When roughly 70 per cent of WSIB decisions are overturned on appeal, that is not bad luck or simple error. It shows a system working against workers.”
