NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release 2003SDL0008-000404 May 5, 2003		Ministry of Skills Development and Labour
WCB CHANGES BENEFIT SURVIVORS

VICTORIA – All surviving partners of workers who die from workplace injuries will receive lifetime survivor benefits under legislation introduced today by Labour Minister Graham Bruce. This legislation also recognizes the difficulty older individuals may have in entering the workforce after the unexpected death of a partner.

                                     

“This is the third piece of legislation we’ve brought in to meet government’s New Era commitment to create a more responsive workers’ compensation system,” said Bruce. “Today’s changes bring us closer to that goal by providing surviving partners and dependants with fair and compassionate treatment.”

 

Changes introduced today under Bill 37, the Skills Development and Labour Statutes Amendment Act, 2003, will:

 

• Provide monthly benefits for life to all surviving partners, including those without children. The benefits are based on a portion of the monthly benefit the deceased worker would have received for a permanent total disability, with the percentage increasing according to the survivor’s age.

 

• Increase the age at which benefits paid for dependent children end, to 19 years old from 18 for children not attending school, and to 25 from 21 for children in school.

 

• Allow surviving dependants to retain 50 per cent of their Canada Pension Plan survivor benefits instead of losing 100 per cent, and clarify that a surviving partner keeps their own Canada Pension Plan retirement benefit rather than having it deducted from their WCB benefit.

 

• Ensure lay advocates can advise or act on behalf of employers and employees who are going through the WCB system.

 

“Government recently took steps to improve workers’ compensation by appointing a board of directors to set WCB policy that focuses on preventing workplace injuries and deaths and improves service delivery,” said Bruce. “Last year, we restructured the system to ensure its future while still providing WCB benefits that are among the highest in Canada. We also put strict timelines on the appeals process to give finality to workers’ and employers’ appeals. Now, we have focused on benefits that will help survivors when they need help the most.”

 

These amendments will be retroactive to June 30, 2002, when the WCB system was updated to ensure sustainability.

 

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