Ontario Government Proposes Changes To Legislation Affecting Workers

The Government of Ontario has introduced Bill 109, the Employment and Labour Statute Law Amendment Act, which proposes amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, Public Sector Labour Relations Transition Act, 1997 and labour provisions of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997. The proposed changes seek to further protect the rights of employees in Ontario.

More specifically, Bill 109 proposes to:

• Ensure that workers who report workplace injury or illness to the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (the "WSIB") are protected from employer retribution;
• Increase the maximum corporate penalties from $100,000 to $500,000 for conviction of an offence under the Workplace Safety & Insurance Act, including knowingly making a false or misleading statement to the WSIB or willfully failing to inform the WSIB of a material change in circumstance within 10 days; and