Mandate
The Workers Compensation Act Legislative Review Committee 2025-2026 will:
- Assess whether the current system is fair to both workers and employers, providing adequate compensation in a sustainable, no-fault, collective liability system.
- Gather input from workers, employers, and the public to identify perspectives about and concerns with the Act and the workers’ compensation system; evaluate stakeholder satisfaction with the current administration of the Act.
- Compare, to the degree possible, Manitoba’s system with other workers’ compensation systems in Canada, identifying potential leading practices that may be adopted here.
- Examine emerging issues such as psychological injuries, technological and workforce changes (e.g., Al, “gig” work), and assess the WCB’s readiness to respond to them.
- Examine issues facing self-insured (individually assessed) organizations such as administration costs.
- Identify areas of ambiguity or inconsistency in the Act; identify opportunities to make the Act clearer and more accessible through plain language drafting.
- Make recommendations that enhance the fairness and responsiveness of the system to the changing needs of Manitoba workers and employers.
The Committee will also explore other emerging matters and consider:
- Examining legislative provisions related to coverage specifically related to psychological injuries.
- Evaluating the threshold for causation in occupational disease claims.
- Reviewing legislative provisions governing wage loss benefits, pensions, and death benefits to assess whether the legislation adequately protects the financial security of injured workers and their families.
- Reviewing the Act’s provisions relating to the role of WCB health care advisors in the context of workers’ right to select their own health care providers.
- Examining the current structure supporting the WCB’s injury prevention efforts with the aim of maximizing effectiveness to reduce workplace injuries and illness.