Episode 8 • Occupational Disease & WSIB Coverage

Episode 8 • Occupational Disease & WSIB Coverage

Occupational diseases can often seem invisible. Unlike a traumatic workplace injury, these illnesses often develop slowly, after years of breathing toxic dust, handling hazardous chemicals, or working in environments that cumulatively damage the body over time. And for many workers, by the time symptoms appear, proving that their illness was caused by work becomes an uphill battle. In the latest episode of Labour Pains, we’re speaking with Janice Martell, one of Canada’s leading advocates for workers suffering from occupational disease. Through her groundbreaking work documenting the harms of McIntyre Powder exposure in miners, and now her advocacy around sarcoidosis and other emerging occupational illnesses, Janice has helped expose the gaps in how the WSIB recognizes diseases caused by workplace exposure. Janice has launched a new voluntary registry open to all Ontario workers with a diagnosis of sarcoidosis. This is the first step in researching the relationship between work and this disease. Affected workers (or next-of-kin) can reach the registry by calling 705-822-3171. Labour Pains: An Injured Worker Podast (formerly InjuredWorkerCast) features conversations in the field of health & safety and workers’ compensation in Ontario, Canada and beyond.  It is produced by Injured Workers Community Legal Clinic, and is not a substitute for professional legal advice. For more information on workers compensation issues, campaigns, and resources, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠injuredworkersonline.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ [http://injuredworkersonline.org/]. Music and Audio Editing by David Newberry.

Episode 7 • Understanding Bill 105's Impact on Injured Workers

In this episode we break down the Ontario Government’s proposed amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, as part of Bill 105, and the implications for injured & ill workers. If passed, these changes would be the most significant amendments to the compensation system in decades, and would impact how lost wages compensation is managed over time. The possible end of lock in provisions could have wide-ranging consequences for permanently injured workers and the security and stability of their compensation. While expanding coverage to include workers in private residential facilities and retirement homes, increasing the benefit rate to 90 per cent and getting rid of the age 65 cut off are steps in the right direction, the amendments do not go far enough in properly addressing and rectifying historic injustices faced by injured workers. Join IWC caseworkers Tebasum Durani, John McKinnon, Chris Grawey and Orlando Buonastella in unpacking the substance of the proposed amendments, and their potential impacts. Labour Pains: An Injured Worker Podast (formerly InjuredWorkerCast) features conversations in the field of health & safety and workers’ compensation in Ontario, Canada and beyond.  It is produced by Injured Workers Community Legal Clinic, and is not a substitute for professional legal advice. For more information on workers compensation issues, campaigns, and resources, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠injuredworkersonline.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ [http://injuredworkersonline.org/]. Music and Audio Editing by David Newberry.

Episode 6 • Expanding Drug Benefits in Ontario

Today’s episode is a discussion about how (and what) prescription medication is covered in Ontario, and whether or not it is time to expand that coverage. Our guest is MPP Robin Lennox, who recently introduced a motion calling on the Ontario government to expand the Ontario Drug Benefit. Labour Pains: An Injured Worker Podast (formerly InjuredWorkerCast) features conversations in the field of health & safety and workers’ compensation in Ontario, Canada and beyond.  It is produced by Injured Workers Community Legal Clinic, and is not a substitute for professional legal advice. For more information on workers compensation issues, campaigns, and resources, visit ⁠⁠⁠injuredworkersonline.org⁠⁠⁠ [http://injuredworkersonline.org/]. Music and Audio Editing by David Newberry.

Episode 5 • WSIB's Age Discrimination

Today’s episode features contributions from legal experts John McKinnon and Chris Grawey, both of Injured Workers Community Legal Aid Clinic.  In today's episode, we're examining a little-known but deeply consequential policy: the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act's cutoff of wage loss benefits at the age of 65. On paper, it might sound like just another administrative rule. In practice, it raises serious questions about age discrimination, economic security, and fairness for injured workers, particularly older workers who are still part of the workforce. Labour Pains: An Injured Worker Podast (formerly InjuredWorkerCast) features conversations in the field of health & safety and workers’ compensation in Ontario, Canada and beyond.  It is produced by Injured Workers Community Legal Clinic, and is not a substitute for professional legal advice. For more information on workers compensation issues, campaigns, and resources, visit ⁠⁠⁠injuredworkersonline.org⁠⁠⁠ [http://injuredworkersonline.org/]. Music and Audio Editing by David Newberry.

Episode 4 • Who Killed Sir William?

Today’s episode features contributions from Steve Mantis and Marion Endicott, co-authors of “Who Killed Sir William? A Community-University Research Alliance Seeks Justice for Injured Workers.” On the surface, “Who Killed Sir William” is a book about workers compensation and community/university research partnerships, but it is much more than that. It is a blueprint for building alliances that can push back against the forces that have made life difficult for all marginalized people.  Labour Pains: An Injured Worker Podast (formerly InjuredWorkerCast) features conversations in the field of health & safety and workers’ compensation in Ontario, Canada and beyond.  It is produced by Injured Workers Community Legal Clinic, and is not a substitute for professional legal advice. For more information on workers compensation issues, campaigns, and resources, visit ⁠⁠⁠injuredworkersonline.org⁠⁠⁠ [http://injuredworkersonline.org/]. Music and Audio Editing by David Newberry.