The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Labour and Immigration Minister Nancy Allan has announced that public hearings on the Workers Compensation Act are to be conducted by a four-person review committee beginning April 14. The committee will hold public meetings throughout the province to seek the views and ideas of Manitobans and will also accept written submissions. "It has been almost 20 years since the public was consulted about the workers compensation legislation," Allan said. "It's important that the act be reviewed regularly to determine if there are areas that need to be improved and updated. Our ultimate goal is to ensure we have a system that appropriately meets the needs of workers, employers and the public. "Times change, as do the needs of the stakeholders of the compensation system. We need to hear what workers and employers have to say and address that through up-to-date legislation that is reflective of the environment we work and live in." The review committee includes a representative from business, labour and the public interest. Their mandate is to conduct a complete review of the Workers Compensation Act with input from all stakeholder groups. The review committee, after hearing all points of view expressed by the people of Manitoba, will submit a report to the Government of Manitoba. The government will provide one further opportunity to obtain further input once it has received the review committee's report. This is the process that was recently used in the review of the Workplace Safety and Health legislation, and all participants felt it was a very productive process, Allan said. Public meetings will be held between April and June of this year in Beausejour, Brandon, Dauphin, Flin Flon, Gimli, Morden, Portage la Prairie, Selkirk, Steinbach, The Pas, Thompson and Winnipeg. Meeting dates, venues and written submissions will be posted on the website: www.wcbactreview.com. Further information about the hearings and/or how to register to make a presentation can be obtained by telephone toll-free at 1-866-868-4214. Verbal presentations will have a time limit of 10 minutes in order to ensure all presentations are heard.
