Canadian Safety Reporter

2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2015 Ontario Tories accuse WSIB of operating 'slush fund' for union Ontario Federation of Labour denies misspending, defends training BY SABRINA NANJI ONTARIO'S PROGRESSIVE Conservative labour critic is ac- cusing the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) of op- erating a slush fund for the prov- ince's labour federation. Last month at Queen's Park, MPP Randy Hillier told the leg- islature the province's WSIB had given the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) more than $12 million over the past decade to help employees and em- ployers navigate the compensation system through its Occupa- tional Disability Re- sponse Team (ODRT) fund — but its effec- tiveness is tepid at best. Hillier pooled his information from a 2014 KPMG audit and subsequent freedom of information docu- ments requested by his office. "The purpose of this (fund) is not to prevent accidents but to provide infor- mation and assistance to people who have a claim, in their deal- ings with the WSIB," Hillier said in an interview. "You can also look at it this way: We're already paying many, many people at the WSIB to do exactly that." According to the FOI docu- ments obtained by Hillier's of- fice, some of the grant money given to the OFL was earmarked for gym memberships, car and mileage allowances, and a $44,000-training session at Bay- view Wildwood Resort in the Muskoka area. Hillier said more account- ability and value are necessary. He alleged the fund was applied inappropriately. "More accountability and to uphold the agreement, that would be a nice place to start," he said. "If this is to help injured workers navigate the WSIB, that has to be questioned as well. Why would the WSIB have to go to an outside third party, to give them money, so that they can be trained on how to tell people how to deal with the WSIB on an injury claim? You can't square that circle." Back in 2014, KPMG released an audit into the WSIB's grants and research program, which determined that from 2009 to 2012, there was little value for money from overall strategy and governance perspectives. KPMG concluded the pro- gram lacked a comprehensive strategy aligned with the WSIB's objectives and did not have a for- malized governance and man- agement structure in place to effectively oversee a comprehen- sive research and grants strategy and achievement of intended results. KPMG recommended the board develop its strategy and management structure, and changes are slated for 2016. What the audit has to do with the OFL is beyond its president Sid Ryan, who debunked Hillier's claim the federation is "living high on the hog" as nonsense. The gym memberships are part of a health and wellness provision under the collective agreement between the OFL and its employees, Ryan explained, adding that the training sessions held in Muskoka are reasonably priced — $130 for double oc- cupancy rooms, $170 for single occupancy, with meals provided. Through the ODRT — which received on average $800,000 per year for the past two decades — the OFL provides workplace disability prevention training and advisory support when it comes to the compensation board, something Ryan likened to traversing a labyrinth. "Roughly speaking, over the last number of years, we reckon we've trained about 20,000 to 22,000 activists, who are basical- ly fully trained now, to represent people in almost a paralegal way in front of the WSIB, whether it be the tribunals or in the work- place," he said. "If you know anything about the workers' compensation sys- tem, it is incredibly — it is ex- tremely complicated to navigate. It's not easy." WSIB shake-up In 2010, the WSIB announced certain improvements could be made to its grants program, according to Christine Arnott, spokesperson for the board. That included a "val- ue for money" audit on its grants and research program in 2012. "The value for mon- ey audit concluded that the grants pro- gram did exhibit value and produced notable results at the individ- ual research project or grant-funded activity level," Ar- nott explained. "It also acknowledged that im- provements to some elements of the program could be made, including overall strategy and governance." As such, a new grants pro- gram will be launched in 2016, with 2015 designated as a transi- tion year. Though details of the new rubric are forthcoming, Arnott said the new policy has been de- signed to ensure alignment with the WSIB's objective strategy, meet business needs and have measurable results. According to the board's grants policy document posted on its website, the WSIB will "actively manage grants to en- sure compliance with the grant agreement, including adherence to the budget and ongoing rele- vance of the grant for the WSIB." CSR | May 2015 | News Credit: Lester Balajadial/Shutterstock "e value for money audit concluded that the grants program did exhibit value and produced notable results."

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