Workers' compensation in Canada: a case for greater public accountability

In this article, the authors argue that workers' compensation policies in C anada should be made more accountable to elected governments. The changing nature of occupational risks has created a range of workplace injuries agai nst which current workers' compensation programs do not adequately insure. The existence of workers' compensation alongside the other components of th e social-safety net may have created significant numbers of individuals who are either not receiving compensation when they should be or are receiving compensation when they should not be. The implication is that other progra ms bear some of the costs that should be borne by workers' compensation and , conversely, that some of the costs borne by workers' compensation should be borne by other social programs. These "gaps and overlaps" indicate that workers' compensation should be better integrated with the rest of the prog rams that make up the Canadian social-safety net. The article concludes wit h a menu of reforms, including the establishment, through legislation, of a formal reporting relationship; changes to the composition and size of gove rnance structures; the introduction of strategic planning; and the establis hment of performance measurement processes.