NDP MPP Lise Vaugeois tables The Meredith Act to support ill and injured workers

QUEEN’S PARK – NDP Shadow Minister for Seniors and Accessibility, with responsibility for WSIB and Injured Workers, MPP Lise Vaugeois (Thunder Bay – Superior North) has tabled Bill 86, The Meredith Act in the Legislature, an Act to replace the 1997 Workers Safety and Insurance Act and is the result of years of consultation with members of injured worker support groups.

“Bill 86 restores the WSIB to its original purpose: to support workers who are made ill or injured in their workplaces without becoming a financial burden on their families or the public,” said MPP Vaugeois, whose bill will be debated later today.

“WSIB has been twisted very far from its original purpose, and it is long overdue that workers' well-being is brought back to the front and centre of the program. I want to thank unions from across the province for supporting Bill 86 and hope the government will support the many injured workers abandoned by the current WSIB regime, by voting in favour of The Meredith Act."

“For too long, injured workers in Ontario have been asked to pay the price for an unfair system that leaves close to half of all injured workers in the province living in poverty,” added co-sponsor MPP Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls).

“Bill 86 is about ensuring workers receive the respect and dignity they deserve when they are hurt on the job. I’m proud to partner on this legislation with MPP Vaugeois to fix a broken system and finally put injured workers and their families first.”

“Injured workers across Ontario have been left behind, struggling to access the support they deserve,” said NDP Shadow Minister of Labour, MPP Jamie West (Sudbury), who is also co-sponsoring Bill 86. “Bill 86 is about restoring fairness, dignity, and accountability, and ensuring that when workers are hurt on the job, they are properly supported and protected.”