Media Release: Police Leaders Call for Sweeping Changes to Legislation and Policies Governing...

Media Release

Police Leaders Call for Sweeping Changes to Legislation and Policies Governing Workers Compensation in Policing Sector

For Immediate Release: July 16, 2021

(Toronto, ON) – Ontario’s police leaders are calling on the Government of Ontario to immediately address systemic issues related to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and the need for legislative and policy changes so that police services can better support their members while also maintaining the operational and fiscal integrity of police organizations. Two resolutions related to the workers compensation system were passed by the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) members at the 2021 Annual General Meeting held in June. 

“Police service members and organizations deserve a workers compensation system that responds to the needs of our members for appropriate support while also providing police employers with an effective and fiscally responsive WSIB process that does not negatively impact on police operations,” said Chief Paul VandeGraaf (Cobourg Police Service), Chair of the OACP’s WSIB Working Group. The working group sponsored a Resolution entitled, “Mandatory Legislative Amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act and/or WSIB Policy Documents Relating to Bill 163, Supporting Ontario’s First Responders Act (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder), 2016 while the OACP’s Police Legal Advisors Committee sponsored another resolution entitled, “Changes to the WSIB System – Modernizing while Maintaining Worker Protections.” 

The cost of maintaining the WSIB system by employers is becoming fiscally prohibitive and a burden on taxpayers due to escalating costs and delays in the adjudication and appeals system. This is resulting in employees being subjected to increased and unnecessary stress and delayed return-to-work. 

The OACP is calling on the Government of Ontario to make legislative amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act and/or WSIB policy documents/processes. It is also asking the government to consider having the income replacement benefit reduced to a percentage of full pay – similar to short- and long-term disability plans – so that there is an incentive for police personnel to return-to-work and also provide relief for employers and taxpayers from the skyrocketing costs of WSIB. 

The association is calling for the government to strike a working group to recommend legislative amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act and/or WSIB policy documents and processes. The working group should include representatives of relevant stakeholders, including the OACP, the Police Association of Ontario/Toronto Police Association, the Ontario Senior Officers Association, the Ontario Association of Police Services Boards, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, Fire Services, Paramedics, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. 

OACP Resolutions are available here.

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