Before The Workers Compensation Act:

Before 1916, Manitoba workers injured on the job had no guarantee of basic protection such as income replacement.  A worker injured while performing their job, could only sue their employer for damages.

Suing an employer, however, was often too expensive for most workers. And those workers who could afford to sue their employer rarely succeeded in recovering any damages. Courts had created difficult barriers to lawsuits. Employers had three powerful defences, known as the “Unholy Trinity”. Briefly, the courts had ruled that:

• a worker assumed the risks associated with their employment (Assumption of Risk);
• if another worker caused the accident, the employer was not responsible for the injury (Doctrine of Common Employment); and
• if the worker was even partially responsible for the accident, the employer had no responsibility (Defence of Contributory Negligence).

These three defences, combined with the expensive costs of litigation, ensured that very few workers received compensation for work-related disabilities. If a worker was successful in suing their employer, damages the employer may be required to pay could be catastrophic to their business, particularly in the case of small employers.

The creation of The Workers Compensation Act:

In 1910, the Government of Ontario appointed Sir William Meredith to make recommendations for laws that would deal with the compensation by employers of workers for injuries received in the course of their employment. He examined existing workers compensation systems around the world. His final report (October 31, 1913) recommended a system of workers compensation, drawn in part from systems in Germany, Great Britain and the United States. He established what are still known around the world as “The Meredith Principles”.

The Ontario government accepted Sir William Meredith’s recommendations. In 1914 it enacted the first workers compensation legislation in Canada. Afterwards, all jurisdictions in Canada copied and adopted this legislation, with minor variations. 

Manitoba enacted its first workers compensation legislation in 1916 (then called The Workmen’s Compensation Act) and established the Workers Compensation Board (WCB) on March 1, 1917.  

Overview of Previous Legislative Reviews

The Government of Manitoba often amends The Workers Compensation Act (the “Act”) without a formal legislative review. These changes, however, typically deal with specific narrow issues within the workers compensation system.

A legislative review process provides an opportunity for a committee to make recommendations to the Government of Manitoba to change the Act in ways that will better serve Manitoba workers and employers.

The Act has undergone significant changes since it was first introduced in 1916. Over the past century it has been thoroughly reviewed on several different occasions. The most recent reviews occurred in 2005 and in 2016-2017.

The 2005 Legislative Review Committee made 100 recommendations for the changes to the Act and WCB policy. These recommendations resulted in changes to the Act through Bill 25, which included:

• Changing the coverage model for employers from an inclusionary model, which had a list of included employers, to an exclusionary model, which lists only those employers excluded from coverage.
• Incorporating prevention and return-to-work into workers compensation principles.
• Eliminating the step down from 90% to 80% wage replacement after 24 months on claim. Before January 1, 2006, workers receiving wage loss benefits for more than 2 years saw a reduction of their wage loss benefits of 10%.
• Increasing rates for impairment and fatality benefits.

The most recent review of the Act in 2016-2017 led to a report of 64 recommendations. Some of the recommendations were implemented through Bill 18, including:

• Amending the definitions of “accident” and “occupational disease”.
• Establishing a schedule of occupational diseases to make it easier to establish a work-related cause for certain types of injuries or illnesses.
• Reinstating a cap on maximum insurable earnings so that injured workers are paid compensation equivalent to 90% of their loss of earning capacity, up to a maximum amount.
• Creating an employer advisor office to assist employers in understanding and interpreting the Act and WCB policies, as well as the decisions made under them.
• Enhancing and clarifying the WCB’s enforcement and inspection powers.
• Updating the administrative penalty scheme.