Stakeholders and Public Consultations

Stakeholders and Public Consultations
Fredericton
November 6, 2007
Stakeholder Meetings
New Brunswick Nursing Homes Association
NB Power Group of Companies
Construction Association of New Brunswick
Canadian Federation of Independent Business (November 7)
Public Consultation
Number in Attendance: 23
Number of Presentations: 5
Issues / Concerns Presented:
Federation of Labour
• Strong regulations and enforcement.
• More training.
• Return to work – legislated Return to Work committees.
• Board member appointments through Federation of Labour and Canadian
Manufacturers and Exporters.
• Three-day wait – eliminate.
• Joint health and safety committees.
• Prevention.
• Separate Occupational Health and Safety Commission.
• Need for increase number of case managers.
• Support Workers’ Rehabilitation Center in Bathurst.
• Need for increase in number of workers’ advocates.
Delalene Harris-Foran, President, Local 1253
• Agree with CUPE and Federation of Labour briefs.
• Difficult time to set up Occupational Health and Safety Committees (OHSC).
• Should be enforcing OHSC requirement.
• Increased education / prevention are important.
Linwood Lawrence – Appeals Tribunal Member
• Financial hardship when no wages until claim accepted.
• Deeming – only when there are actual jobs in area where injured worker lives.
Major issue for minimum wage earners.
• CPPD – long time to process and then injured worker receives lump sum
payment. This is deducted from loss of earning benefits and results in
overpayment.
• If injured worker marries after receiving LTD, spouse does not receive pension. It
reverts back to WHSCC.

Valerie Black, President - NB Council of Nursing Home Unions
• Agrees with the NB Federation of Labour recommendations.
• Accommodation – difficult to find “light duties” in nursing homes.
• Prevention is a must.
• Developed five-year action plan with WHSCC, government, workers, nursing
homes – only half of employers have embraced plan.
• Workload, retention and recruitment issues are detrimental to occupational health
and safety.
• Change section 15 of OHS Act replacing the words “a committee may” with “a
committee shall” perform functions spelled out in legislation.
Norma Robinson, Rosanne Carter, CUPE New Brunswick
• Definition of “accident”.
• Preponderance of evidence.
• Increase loss of earnings benefits to 90%.
• Eliminate 3-day wait.
• Deeming.
• Separate Occupational Health and Safety Commission.
• Monitor and inspect workplaces very rigorously.
• More emphasis on prevention.
• Supports NB Federation of Labour recommendations.