First Workers' Comp and Safety Acts review since 1993
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Rankin Inlet (Jun 06/01) - Low turnouts for public meetings concerning the Workers' Compensation Act and Safety Act of Nunavut and the NWT do not have Legislative Review Panel members worried.
Only three people showed up for the panel's meeting in Rankin Inlet recently.
Chair Louise Vertes says although the panel would prefer to see larger numbers, people have been expressing their concerns and relaying their experiences via e-mail and fax.
"While we are in communities, in addition to the public hearings, panel members take the opportunity to talk to stakeholders and members of the public on a more informal basis," says Vertes.
"We're getting information in various ways, not just the public meetings."
The Workers' Compensation Act of the NWT was enacted in 1977 and the Safety Act in 1988.
Neither act has been publicly reviewed since 1993. Kelvin Ng and Joseph Handley -- Nunavut and GNWT ministers responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) -- approved the review in order to respond to concerns raised by various employer and worker groups.
The review panel will develop recommendations based on the information they receive, which they will pass on to the ministers by the end of the year.
Vertes says the seven member Legislative Review Panel will be releasing a discussion paper in July, outlining the majority of the issues raised to the panel.
"What we want to say to people is, 'this is what we've heard, here are some of the solutions we've heard, what do you think?'
"We're struggling right now for a way to do that which will make it easier for people to get their thoughts back to us."
One issue being reviewed by the panel focuses on the fact carvers and artisans must buy WCB coverage in case of injury on the job.
The panel wants to hear if people feel there should be a special program, such as the harvester's program, for carvers and artisans, and if they feel coverage should be legislated.
"It's important for people to tell us their experiences with the acts," Vertes says.
"They can write their experiences and send them to us and it doesn't have to be a grand, official type of document. We'd like to hear what about the acts they feel worked for them and what areas they feel let them down."
