Instead, under Marshall’s watch, denied claims increased by 50 per cent. Benefits to injured workers have been reduced by $631 million; the rehabilitation program has been decimated; long-term wage loss benefits have been reduced by 28 per cent; hundreds of WSIB employees have been laid off; and injured workers’ pensions have been reduced by 31.3 per cent.
This is not only having a devastating impact on injured workers; it is also downloading costs onto our social assistance and health care systems. And the workers’ compensation system has been brought to a stall, with thousands and thousands of appeals and lengthy and unacceptable delays in dealing with them.