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Rebuttal to "Construction Workers At Risk"-January 26, Toronto Star

2010-01-28T18:15:00Z

This is a rebuttal to the article on Construction Safety in the Toronto Star: This was sent in the direction of the Star. "Construction Workers At Risk" (January 26 2010)

Our Association would like to correct false misrepresentations of fact contained in this article as it relates to Construction Safety in Ontario and object to your reporters failure to fact check the information provided by her sources.

Ms. Talaga states that the tragic deaths of 4 workers in the Swing Stage collapse on Christmas Eve exposes some sort of secret that her sources claim is some sort of scandal. The facts say that this is fear mongering for political advantage just like with those who falsely claim a crisis in crime and murder rates even as the reality says the rates are declining. The facts are not secret but easily found public information contained in Annual Reports of the Construction Safety Association of Ontario going back to 1966.

These official statistics rebut every implication of Ms. Talaga and her sources. Since the mentioned Hog's Hollow tragedy of 1960, fatality and accident frequency in Ontario has decreased an incredible close to 90% with decade after decade of improvement unlike crime stats that go up and down depending on economic factors. The reference to training in Quebec as being superior fails to note the contradiction that the Union Only Quebec industry by CSAO stats has an injury frequency rate more than double Ontario's which is the best in the Country and probably the Continent.

CSAO stats also show that the uncontested claim of her sources that there is an ever increasing rate of immigrant underground activity is false. CSAO and Stats Can information in the Annual Reports show that WSIB reported hours worked are increasing faster that Stats Can data on workers employed indicating the underground activity in construction is in rapid decline. This is obvious because we all know that over the last 10 years immigration has regrettably shifted radically away from those groups who enter the construction industry.

In conclusion we would state that your reporter and her sources have done a great disservice to our industry by gross misrepresentation of Safety facts that damages our ability to recruit young people we badly need to attract into wonderful careers. Just need to check the facts or ask someone who cares about the facts.

David McDonald
President, Merit OpenShop Contractors Association

Auditor General says WSIB unfunded liability could threaten future benefits

2009-12-11T20:48:06Z

As a follow up to previous comments on the WSIB is confirmation from the Auditor General of the sad state of affairs at the WSIB. What is perhaps most the distressing and obvious observation is that while the Ontario Board is crippled with the costs of a huge Unfunded Liability other Provincial Boards have no liability and are completely funded. In other words the WSIB’s problems are not caused by the short term economic downturn but are the result of years of fiscal mismanagement. This is a made in Ontario crisis.

There are many reasons why we have opposed the Government’s legislation intended to force all independent operators to buy WSIB coverage but this must certainly be at the top of the list. How can an organization not capable of managing its’ present fiscal obligations possibly be expected to properly manage thousands of new customers who want no part of the system. The Government in its’ 2 terms has introduced numerous “reforms” with the promise up until this spring that they were on target to eliminate the Unfunded Liability by 2014. The earliest estimate is now 2022.

Tell your MPP that Mandatory Coverage is just another step in the wrong direction for the WSIB and will compound an already serious financial threat to the viability of the system.

As Mr. Liversidge notes, ‘fundamental change is needed.’

David McDonald

President

Merit OpenShop Contractors Association

Ph 416-483-3856 or 1-888-303-9878

Fax 416-483-3095

dave@openshop.ca

www.openshop.ca

Auditor General says WSIB unfunded liability could threaten future benefits

Just a few minutes ago Ontario’s Auditor General released his 2009 Annual Report. I will be presenting a full and detailed account later this week, but the analysis I have recently presented has been affirmed by the AG.

The AG said that unless the WSIB starts to address its significant $11.5-billion unfunded liability (it’s actually more now – he is referring to the 2008 level) “today”, it may ultimately not be able to meet its existing future financial commitments to injured workers.

Just as I have been suggesting for more than a year now, AG McCarter said, “The time to start addressing this problem is now; otherwise, there is the risk that the WSIB may not be able to meet its obligations, or it may have to raise premiums well beyond what employers can realistically afford.”

Using comparisons with other Canadian jurisdictions similar to those I presented in the November series of The Liversidge e-Letter, the Auditor General’s Report also noted that the WSIB’s funding ratio—the percentage of assets available to meet its financial obligations—was 53.5% at the end of 2008. By comparison, the four large provincial boards the Auditor compared Ontario to (British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec) averaged 102%.

Just as I have been arguing, the AG suggests that “fundamental legislative changes may also be needed before any significant progress can be made in reducing claims duration”.

While I called the Board’s plan to eliminate the unfunded liability by 2014 “impossible”, the AG said it was “ambitious.”

In the October 5, 2009 issue of The Liversidge e-Letter, I said that it would be wise to question the Board’s recent and oft repeated confidence that “the workplace safety and insurance system remains secure”. The AG meets this head on. In addressing the WSIB argument that the unfunded liability is only a problem at time of wind-up, the AG asserts “we do not agree with this argument”.

My bottom line take on the AG’s report? As I have been arguing for more than a year now, fundamental change must be the new order of the day.

---------------------------------------
L.A. Liversidge, LL.B.
Barrister & Solicitor
50 Acadia Avenue, Suite 101
Markham ON L3R 0B3
Telephone: 905-477-2039
Facsimile: 905-477-4659
Email: lal@laliversidge.com

The Case for a Large Scale Review of the Ontario WSIB

2009-11-10T18:20:00Z

WSIB - The Case for a Large Scale Review

I don’t think many of us in the Construction Industry could take the psychological beating involved in working for a big bureaucracy, especially one as dysfunctional as the WSIB. To us just having to deal with WSIB is as much as we can take.

Over the years, I have participated in numerous industry committees and initiatives and one thing is constant; the WSIB bureaucracy believes we, the employers, are the problem. The attitude seems to be; we are not safe enough; we are not trying hard enough; we do not re employ injured workers; we do not train; our safety policies are not good enough and therefore you will be punished for your sins. Under the present Liberal government this tendency has only been reinforced with a constant increase in rules, paper work and mean-spirited investigations and litigation. Once there were rewards, now there is mostly punishment.

Another constant over the years, has been the industry’s request that the WSIB be accountable for its’ own management and provide employers with measurements, that will show us that the Board is dedicated to improving their job, just as they demand of us. The last constant I will note is that the Board has never provided industry with adequate measurement tools.

Things have to change. See the recent newsletter from Les Liversidge, a long time commentator on the WSIB, that clearly lays out this quandary with a series of descriptive graphs.

These graphs clearly show that employers have been doing their job for the last 20 years and LTI (loss time incident) frequency has steadily declined an incredible 80%. However, in the last 10 years, inflation adjusted benefits paid out have increased at the same rate as accidents have decreased. It seems irrational that the Board takes an increasingly punitive approach in dealing with employers, without explaining how the Board can be spending more every year in payouts while dealing with fewer injuries, but that is the sorry truth.

This is the question, the construction industry has been asking for years, without answer. The major issue here is that while injury frequency declines, costs per injury have skyrocketed. In the 6 year period since the Liberals came into Government, costs per injury have increased 72%. The Board has increasingly been unable either to reign in these costs or even explain them despite repeated requests. How is it possible for the WSIB and the Government to claim that the solution to the Board’s financial problems is for us to reduce injuries, when they are letting costs increase exponentially? The Board is not accountable to Employers and does not have the moral authority to ask anything of us until they clean up their act. There is a mentality and a system that must be changed to improve safety and the financial health of the WSIB.

The latest issue is the new ‘Mandatory Coverage,’ the Government’s initiative to force all small, independent tradesmen\businessmen to buy insurance from the WSIB at the same rate as employees. These individuals are the owners and have no interest in being forced to pay for something they do not need or want. And where is the morality to force anybody to buy insurance from an organization that is a badly managed fiscal basket case.

For other news on the WSIB, check out the WSIB news section on our website at www.openshop.ca/pages/newspages/wsib.html.

Dave McDonald

President, Merit OpenShop Contractors Association

Welcome

2009-10-31T01:20:56Z

Welcome to my blog. Please check back soon for new entries.