Bill 162 Original (PDF)
Bill 162 2006
An Act to amend the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997
Note: This Act amends the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997. For the legislative history of the Act, see Public Statutes - Detailed Legislative History on www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:
1. (1) Paragraph 1 of subsection 43 (5) of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 is repealed and the following substituted:
1. The amount of the net average earnings before the injury must be adjusted by the indexing factor determined under subsection 49 (1) for each January 1 since the date of the injury.
(2) Paragraph 3 of subsection 43 (5) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
3. If the amount described by clause (2) (b) is not zero and does not consist solely of disability payments in respect of the injury paid to the worker under the Canada Pension Plan or the Quebec Pension Plan, the amount of the payment must be adjusted by the indexing factor determined under subsection 49 (1) for each January 1 since the date of the injury.
(3) Subsection 43 (6) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Annual adjustment
(6) Every year on January 1, the Board shall adjust the amount of the payments otherwise payable to a worker using the indexing factor determined under subsection 49 (1).
2. Sections 49 and 50 of the Act are repealed and the following substituted:
Indexing factor
49. (1) On January 1 of every year, an indexing factor shall be determined that is equal to the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for Canada for all items, for the 12-month period ending on October 31 of the previous year, as published by Statistics Canada.
Same
(2) If the percentage change described in subsection (1) is a negative per cent, the indexing factor shall be zero.
Application
(3) The indexing factor applies with respect to the calculation of all amounts payable under this Part.
3. Subsection 51 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out "general".
4. (1) Subsection 52 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out "general or alternate indexing factor, as the case may be" and substituting "indexing factor".
(2) Subsection 52 (2) of the Act is repealed.
5. The Act is amended by adding the following section:
Indexing factor to apply to past payments
52.1 (1) Despite any provision in this Act, if an indexing factor other than the one described in subsection 49 (1) was applied in calculating the amount of any payment made to a person on or after January 1, 1994, the Board shall determine the difference between,
(a) the amount that would have been paid if the indexing factor described in subsection 49 (1) had been applied; and
(b) the amount that was actually paid.
Same
(2) If the amount determined under clause (1) (b) is less than the amount determined under clause (1) (a), the Board shall pay the difference to the person in the prescribed manner.
When payments must be made
(3) The Board shall make its determination under subsection (1) and any payments required under subsection (2) within six months after the date the Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act (Indexing), 2006, comes into force.
6. Section 111 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Indexation of compensation
111. (1) Subsections 148 (1), (1.1), (1.2) and (1.3) of the pre-1997 Act shall be deemed to be repealed and the following substituted:
Indexation
(1) The indexing factor determined under subsection 49 (1) of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 applies with respect to the calculation of all compensation payable under this Act.
Same
(2) The pre-1997 Act shall be deemed to be amended by striking out "subsection 148 (1.3)" in paragraph 1 of subsection 43 (4), subparagraph 2 ii of subsection 43 (4), paragraph 1 of subsection 43 (5) and clause 43 (6.1) (b) and substituting in each case "subsection 148 (1)".
Same
(3) Subsection 148 (4) of the pre-1997 Act shall be deemed to be repealed and the following substituted:
Indexing factor to apply to past payments
(4) Despite any provision in this Act, if an indexing factor other than the one described in subsection 49 (1) was applied in calculating the amount of any payment made to a person on or after January 1, 1994, the Board shall determine the difference between,
(a) the amount that would have been paid if the indexing factor described in subsection 49 (1) had been applied; and
(b) the amount that was actually paid.
Same
(5) If the amount determined under clause (4) (b) is less than the amount determined under clause (4) (a), the Board shall pay the difference to the person in the prescribed manner.
When payments must be made
(6) The Board shall make its determination under subsection (4) and any payments required under subsection (5) within six months after the date the Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act (Indexing), 2006, comes into force.
Commencement
7. This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
Short title
8. The short title of this Act is the Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act (Indexing), 2006.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Currently, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 provides for two indexing factors to be applied each year to amounts payable under Part VI (Insured Payments). The indexing factor to be used depends on the type of payment. One indexing factor is equal to the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index. The other indexing factor is calculated by reducing the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index according to a formula set out in the Act.
The Bill amends the Act to remove the reduced indexing factor. The Bill also provides for the unreduced indexing factor to apply to all payments made on or after January 1, 1994. If any payment made to a person on or after that date was less than the amount that would have been paid using the unreduced indexing factor, the Board must pay the difference to the person.
Amendments addressing transitional matters are also included.