Until the federal legislation changes, or all provinces and territories have harmonious presumptive injury legislation, employees will continue to fall between the cracks.
Presumptive injury legislation varies from province to province in Canada, and in many jurisdictions, it applies only to certain groups of employees. These employees are typically first responders such as firefighters, paramedics, police and other emergency responders.
In the last decade, several provinces have adopted legislation that recognizes the direct correlation between certain mental health injuries and workplace trauma. Under most of these laws, some workers diagnosed with occupational stress injuries will be able to claim Workers’ Compensation benefits without having to demonstrate that their illness was caused by their experiences in the workplace.
Only in Manitoba & Saskatchewan are nearly all workers covered by presumptive injury legislation. In the rest of Canada, only a small percentage of Public Safety Personnel have been eligible.
With current legislation
Two federal public service employees doing the same job in two different provinces or territories may have entirely different coverage, or none at all, for the same work-related diagnosis.
The Challenge
Most federal public service employees in Canada are governed by the Government Employees Compensation Act (GECA), which delegates the jurisdiction for access to Workers; Compensation to the relevant province or territory where the employee resides. Upon approval of a claim, the respective provincial government is financially reimbursed by the federal Treasury Board for each case where a federal employee is deemed eligible for Worker’s Compensation and receives financial remuneration, and access to psychological and other supports.
Because the federal government currently has no power over the legislation that governs access to Workers’ Compensation in the provinces and territories where employees reside, the Government Employees Compensation Act largely facilitates payment between the federal and relevant provincial government for the funds provided to federal public service employees while they are recovering.
USJE is asking the federal government to make changes to the federal Government Employees Compensation Act – so that USJE’s federal Public Safety Personnel have access to presumptive injury coverage, no matter where they live.
USJE urges the federal Government to immediately make key changes to the Government Employees Compensation Act which would ensure that Federal public safety personnel—many of whom are regularly denied Worker’s Compensation by provincial/territorial boards for their injuries—would finally have access to the compensation and support they so deserve.
USJE’s proposed changes to the Government Employees Compensation Act would effectively broaden the entitlement for federal public safety personnel to presumptive injury claims for work-related psychological injuries.
