National

Amend B.C. Workers Compensation Act: review

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 26 Aug, 2020 10:22 PM

A review of services offered to injured workers in British Columbia makes more than 100 recommendations to improve communication, care and individual services at the Workers' Compensation Board.

Labour Minister Harry Bains released a report Wednesday by retired labour lawyer Janet Patterson, who was commissioned by the government to review the workers' compensation system and make recommendations for improvements.

Patterson's 517-page review calls for an organizational shift to a worker-centric delivery system that treats all injured workers with dignity.

Her report, New Directions: Report of the Workers' Compensation Board Review, 2019, calls on the government to amend the Workers Compensation Act to make a cultural shift back to supporting all injured workers as an organizational goal.

Bains says Patterson consulted widely and heard from more than 2,000 people and organizations.

He says the government is making the report public while it considers Patterson's recommendations.

"There are over 100 recommendations, of which about 60 are for operational and process changes within WorkSafeBC," Bains says in a news release. "It contains substantial information and recommendations that will take some significant time to carefully review."

Photo courtesy of Instagram.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

A Maple Ridge Boy Scout is getting world-wide attention for using his 3D printer to create surgical ear masks

A Boy Scout from Maple Ridge, British Columbia is getting world-wide attention for using his 3D printer to create "ear gears" for surgical masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Heather Roney says her 12-year-old son, Quinn Callander, has created several hundred of them from home so far and donated them to health-care workers around the world. The device, which goes behind the head and is also called an ear guard, has hooks that attach to the straps of a mask and help take the pressure off the backs of the ears.

A Maple Ridge Boy Scout is getting world-wide attention for using his 3D printer to create surgical ear masks

Vancity temporarily cuts credit card interest rates to zero for those in need

Vancity is temporarily cutting credit card interest rates to zero and deferring minimum payments for those facing financial difficulty as a result of COVID-19.

Vancity temporarily cuts credit card interest rates to zero for those in need

Assault charge for Coquitlam man accused of coughing on police

Police say a 24-year-old man from Coquitlam, B.C., has been charged with assaulting a police officer after allegedly coughing towards three officers during an arrest. RCMP Cpl. Michael McLaughlin says the man was arrested while police were investigating an alleged break and enter on Monday.

Assault charge for Coquitlam man accused of coughing on police

Trudeau promises 'relaxed' rules for wage subsidy, more support for student jobs

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal wage-subsidy program for employers hit by COVID-19 will have looser standards than previously announced. Rather than having to show a 30-per-cent decline in revenues, he says they can show a 15-per-cent decline in March, and can compare their revenues to previous months rather than the previous year.

Trudeau promises 'relaxed' rules for wage subsidy, more support for student jobs

All Provincial Parks in BC are closing to encourage social distancing

Provincial parks shut down due to pandemic in order to further help with social distancing just ahead of the long weekend. The province said the decision to close all parks was informed by feedback from the RCMP, local governments and search-and-rescue organizations.

All Provincial Parks in BC are closing to encourage social distancing

Group of First Nations want Supreme Court to hear appeal on Trans Mountain First Nations go to Supreme Court on pipeline case

VANCOUVER - A group of British Columbia First Nations is seeking to challenge the federal government's second approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project in Canada's highest court.