New law protects trauma workers
The government and official Opposition agreed Tuesday to pass legislation that will expand workers’ compensation coverage to workers suffering psychological injuries.
During the summer, the NDP introduced legislation that, if passed, would ensure all Saskatchewan employees suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) would receive benefits from the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB).
The key to that legislation was “presumptive coverage” that would assume all occupations leave employees in a position where they could suffer from PTSD.
That presumption would take away the need for those trying to get compensation benefits from proving a work-related cause or link to their PTSD.
At that time, Labour Relations Minister Don Morgan said he was working on his own legislation to address the issue, which was introduced and passed by all MLAs on Tuesday.
Morgan’s legislation covers not just PTSD, but all forms of psychological injuries.
The NDP’s Danielle Chartier, who introduced the original legislation, said she was “absolutely thrilled that we will now have coverage for all workers who have psychological injuries on the job.”
Some other provinces, like Alberta, offer presumptive clauses for first responders. Ontario does the same, but extends the list to include workers in correctional institutions and a few other positions.
Saskatchewan is offering the coverage to all workers, not just those in certain professions.
Morgan said this was done because it would be nearly impossible to come up with a list of professions that may be exposed to psychological trauma, so the decision was made to include all professions.
“We thought it was the least we could do for the workers in our province,” said Morgan, who thanked the NDP for its efforts on the file.
The bill allows coverage to be retroactive. Qualifying requires a diagnosis from a psychologist or psychiatrist.
Paul Hills, an advanced care paramedic from Saskatoon who supported Chartier’s original bill, was on hand to applaud the passing of the government’s legislation.
“It’s a recognition of the struggles that we face,” he said. “We have the blessing and the curse to involve ourselves in people’s lives every day that the majority of the public doesn’t get to see or even comprehend what we do.”
There is a cost associated with the change, though it’s unclear what that is. More people will fall under WCB as a result, but time will tell how many more people and what impact that will have on the benefits they receive.
Chartier said she hopes to see the law being enforced by Nov. 1.