Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to relay the personal experience of a constituent whose unfortunate workplace injuries have resulted in a two-year odyssey of frustration, delay and uninformed support.
In September 2008, my constituent suffered a workplace accident resulting in severe damage to his ribs and spine. He is left with six to nine permanently detached ribs, nerve damage and great chronic pain with no hope of surgical correction. He can never again resume full duties and must make the choice between pain and debilitating narcotic medication.
He has experienced an apparently endless series of applications, highly legalistic processes and tribunal appeals with inadequate case support and denial of access to legal advice. He’s even had to pay fees for access to his own records. Along the way he’s waited, at times, for the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission medical advisor’s determinations and learned that according to the compensation standards of WSCC policy, his psychological pain is the basis for compensation but not his physical pain. In the end, he has been offered lifetime compensation equal to 5 percent of his former earnings.
For help in navigating this maze, he has relied on the help of an excellent worker’s advocate and now worker’s advisor, who works flat out but lacks the expertise necessary to unsnarl many legal questions. As a result of my inquiries, the agency finally informed the commission that funding was available to provide legal advice with the Minister’s approval.
His Appeals Tribunal hearing was in March and he’s still waiting to hear the WSCC’s reaction to the decision. While past WSCC statement and ministerial correspondence said the medical advisor determines the percentage of impairment as the basis of compensation, he’s learned that actually this is just advice and can be varied according to circumstances, something else the commission didn’t know or admit. He has now filed a human rights complaint to challenge the distinction between psychological and physical pain, and tries not to take too many of the pills that are the best comfort the WSCC seems able to give.
Mr. Speaker, when accidents happen in the workplace, workers are required by law to seek relief through the Workers’ Compensation benefits and support system. They depend on the commission for help in their times of greatest needs.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
They depend on the commission for help in their times of greatest need. I have been impressed with this person’s patience, dignity, intelligent approach and calm in seeking meaningful relief. Because of his perseverance, he is often breaking new ground and doing so partly in recognition of the standard-setting impact he may have to help others that follow with similar issues. He continually asks the question: if this is what’s happening to me, how many more people like me are there out there? That’s a question I’ll be looking into with questions to the Minister. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
