The minimum wage going up in Ontario has had an unexpected impact on injured workers.
Advocate Steve Mantis told a pre-budget committee that the government should be forward thinking of how changes impact everyone.
“Most of them are deemed to at least be able to work a minimum wage. If you’re unemployed, you’re seeing your benefits reduced even further, because of the changes in minimum wage.”
Mantis says he’s in favour of the increase in wages, but notes more needs to be done for injured workers who rely on benefits.
He wants the WSIB to be more accountable for the outcomes of the injured workers they oversee.
Mantis says he’s been trying for 30 years to get them to keep track of the outcomes of the people they manage.
“WSIB goes through three, four billion a year, and they can’t tell you how they do in terms of helping injured workers recover their lost wages, recover their employment, and recover their health.”
Mantis says charities and other organizations that receive government trillium grants are held to a higher standard of accountability than the actual WSIB is with their provincial dollars. (File Photo)