Advocates for injured workers say province needs to change legislation to remove WSIB age-based benefit cutoffs
Ontario’s injured workers and their advocates are calling on the provincial government to amend the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA), arguing that current age-based restrictions on benefits are discriminatory and out of step with today’s workforce realities.
At a recent press conference hosted by the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups and the Thunder Bay & District Injured Workers Support Group, speakers demanded the removal of what they call “discriminatory age caps” on loss of earnings (LOE) benefits for older workers. “Our demand today is very simple: that the provincial government amend the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act to remove the discriminatory age caps for older injured workers’ loss of earning benefits at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board,” said Chris Grawey, a legal worker with the Injured Workers Community Legal Clinic. “The law is clearly discriminatory and unfair.”
Advocates demand end to “discriminatory” age caps
Under current WSIA rules, wage loss benefits for workers injured under age 63 end at age 65, while those injured at 63 or older receive a maximum of two years of benefits. “Section 43 of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act violates the enshrined constitutional principle because it unequally impacts older workers by arbitrarily ending benefits based on age alone, assumes a one-size-fits-all retirement age, ignoring economic and social realities, and denies older workers equal access to the WSIB’s income protections,” said Grawey.
Speakers highlighted that the average retirement age in Ontario has risen, with 30% of Ontarians over 65 still working in 2023, compared to just 14% in 2008. “That’s 843,000 workers in Ontario over age 65. And their right to compensation for work-related injuries is cut short simply because of their age,” said John McGinnis, a lawyer with the Indian River Decree Legal Clinic.
Personal stories highlight real-world impact
Personal stories underscored the impact. Brian Ellacott, a bricklayer injured at age 63, said, “I had always thought if I ever did get injured, that the WSIB would have my back. I found out the hard way that wasn’t the case. The WSIB started to provide retraining in courses for mortgage agent license while I was taking these courses there were disruptions due to surgery on my work-related injuries... In July 23, the WSIB called me and explained that my LOE benefits would terminate on July 28, 23, two years post accident as I was injured when I was 63 years of age. To add insult to injury the WSIB also cut me off from the retraining program before I was finished. The WSIB decision to terminate my LOE benefits and then my retraining is unethical and immoral in my opinion. This is clearly age discrimination and the law needs to change.”
Advocates point to other provinces for solutions. “Western Canada offers examples of more flexible and reasonable approaches,” said Grawey. In British Columbia and Alberta, workers can provide evidence of their intention to work past 65 to extend benefits.
WSIB responds, ministry silent
In response, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) maintains that it supports injured workers regardless of age. “The WSIB is here to help people injured at work regardless of their age. We provide people with health care benefits as long as required for the work-related injury and if someone suffers a permanent impairment as a result of a work-related injury/disease, they are entitled to a non-economic loss (NEL) benefit based on the degree of their permanent impairment regardless of their age at the time of the injury,” the WSIB said in a statement.
The WSIB also points out that the age-based rules are set out in legislation: “As noted in ONIWG’s news release, rules regarding entitlement to benefits related to a person’s age are set out in the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act. Because any changes would require legislation, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development is best positioned to comment on those issues.”
Canadian Occupational Safety reached out to Ontario's Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, but has not received a response.
Advocates argue that the law has not kept pace with the changing workforce and that Ontario should follow the lead of provinces like BC and Alberta. “Ontario needs to change the law. WSIB wage loss benefits should be payable as long as the wage loss from the workplace injury continues,” urged the press release.
As the debate continues, injured workers and their supporters vow to keep pressing for legislative reform, insisting that the current system leaves too many older Ontarians vulnerable to poverty in their later years.
