February 12, 2009

WSIB’s Mahoney launches consultation tour

Seeks industry input on liability, premiums

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

With the aim of ensuring a “sustainable” future for the province’s workplace health and safety insurance system, WSIB chair Steven Mahoney is undertaking province-wide consultations with stakeholders.

“I am committed to achieving a broad consensus among stakeholders on how best to deliver a sustainable future for Ontario’s WSIB,” Mahoney said in a letter to business and labour organizations.

“This process will include open and frank communications with all participants about the financial and legislative framework within which the WSIB operates. Meaningful, results-oriented consultation is the number one priority for my office (in 2009).”

The initiative was applauded by Clive Thurston, president of the Ontario General Contractors Association and chair of an industry task force set up to address WSIB-related issues including the board’s unfunded liability.

“We are very pleased to see this consultative process taking place,” Thurston said. “This meets one of the main goals of the task force. We certainly look forward to participating in a helpful and supportive manner.”

In an interview, Mahoney said the initiative “clearly” was prompted by the state of the economy. The province, he said, is facing “an unprecedented” economic challenge.

“The fact is that the WSIB is not an island,” he said. “We are being impacted tremendously by losses to our investment portfolio. (As well) job losses that are occurring mean there will be fewer payroll dollars and therefore, less revenue for the WSIB.”

Mahoney, who is personally conducting the consultations, said there are no restrictions on programs and services to be evaluated. The matter of the board’s unfunded liability is also open to discussion, he said.

“The magic date (for retirement) was always 2014 but that is not going to happen, given the downturn in the economy,” he said.

Mahoney, who underlined that there are “no silver bullets”, said “the bottom line” is that he is asking stakeholders to work in partnership with the WSIB to chart an achievable course for the future.

“This is not about us sitting around in a room and telling them what we want to do,” he said. “It is about us listening to them and finding out what it is they think we should be doing.”

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