WINNIPEG -- If there was a government manual on how to write bad legislation, to alienate your local business community and to destroy any semblance of good faith or trust, Bill 35 (the Workers Compensation Amendment Act) would be a Chapter 1 case study.
On June 8, with great fanfare from its political base, the Selinger government introduced Bill 35 to provide presumptive coverage for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to all WCB-covered workers -- from architects to waste-management workers. Workers who are exposed to a potential PTSD "triggering event" and are diagnosed with PTSD by a medical professional will automatically qualify for WCB medical and wage-loss benefits. Given the majority of Manitoba businesses are required to register for WCB coverage, the implications are economy-wide.
The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce supports the WCB -- an entity funded 100 per cent by employers. Collectively, we are committed to creating awareness and reducing incidents of workplace mental-health injuries.
Where Bill 35 enters the rabbit hole is with presumptive coverage for this specific type of injury. This means all cases of diagnosed PTSD are presumed to be work-related, unless the contrary is proven.
In 2012, Alberta first responders who suffered from PTSD became eligible for presumptive coverage through WCB Alberta. Exposure to hazards and traumatic events constitute a daily rigour of the workplace for these men and women. As such, the chamber supports presumptive coverage in these cases given the strong evidence of linkage to their specific workplace. Employers' concerns are with the presumption of all PTSD being work-related. Few workplaces can match the inherent trauma faced by emergency personnel.
Bill 35, which should have stopped at first responders, opens a Pandora's box of scenarios. For example, an employee is having serious domestic issues. Following a poor work performance review, he files a WCB claim for PTSD. Under Bill 35, the office setting is presumed to be the cause of the PTSD. The employer, therefore, bears the WCB claim costs for the support, the responsibility for which, morally and legitimately, belongs with the provincial health-care system, and colleagues carry the weight of a redistributed workload.
Manitoba's worker compensation system was built 100 years ago upon a historic trade-off -- injured workers gave up the right to sue employers in exchange for no-fault insurance for work-related injuries or illness, while employers agreed to pay for the system. Bill 35 is a direct attack on this trade-off, off-loading provincial liability and costs onto the backs of Manitoba employers.
The government states employer costs will not rise. This is an incredible statement given medicine's evolving understanding of PTSD and the unfettered expansion of presumption. Neither the government nor WCB have produced a cost analysis on the impact of the proposed changes.
In the 1980s, WCB Manitoba faced a massive unfunded liability, in large part due to increases in benefits driven by government without due diligence on the cost of doing so.
Neither the government nor the WCB have provided any evidence injured workers are being denied compensation benefits for PTSD work-related injuries. In fact, the WCB acknowledges all those entitled to WCB benefits are already receiving them.
Premier Greg Selinger noted this proposed change was driven by the Manitoba Nurses' Union, United Firefighters and Manitoba Government and General Employees' Employees Union. During the WCB's "consultation process," Infrastructure Minister Steve Ashton proclaimed on Twitter the province would be bringing forward landmark PTSD legislation soon, confirming the public "consultation" was mere window dressing on a decision already made.
Increasingly, business is being shut out and dismissed by the provincial government. While business and government agree to disagree on policy from time to time, we have done so with respect and a commitment to building bridges for the long term. Agreement was not required, but respect and trust were valued and nurtured. As such, past disagreements gave way to agreement on initiatives that continue to build Manitoba.
A government receptive to working with business is one of the most important deciding factors influencing a company's expansion or relocation, according to Yes! Winnipeg, the city's business-recruitment agency. With Bill 35, the Selinger government has put out the closed sign.
» Loren Remillard is the executive vice-president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. His column recently appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press.