Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I'll be presenting two important documents relating to the Workers' Compensation Board of the Northwest Territories. The first document, the 1992 Annual Report, is the official record of the year ended last December 31. In looking to the future of workers' compensation, I will also be tabling the WCB's three year corporate plan.
Mr. Speaker, the Workers' Compensation Act requires that the board prepare an annual report for the responsible Minister to approve and bring to this House. I'm pleased to present the WCB's annual report for the period of January 1 to December 31, 1992.
During 1992, the board handled over 3500 claims and was able to close 95 per cent of them within two months. However, Mr. Speaker, it is well known that the year 1992 was a difficult one in many ways for the board. A combination of factors, including a multiple-death mine disaster, stretched the resources to the point that, for the first time in its history, the WCB was not in a fully funded position. While the news has not been all good, this report confirms that the WCB has operated in a professional and conscientious manner in discharging its duties under the act.
The year of 1992 also saw the final report of this House's Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards, and Commissions which recommended a review and a legislative action paper. The former Minister, Mr. Patterson, initiated the review which was conducted by the Chief Commissioner, Garnet Garven.
In order to increase the regional presence of WCB, board members travelled to the regional centres, visiting with hunters' and trappers' associations, labour and employer groups, government agencies and members of the public. From groups like the Fort Smith Metis Assembly and Kitikmeot Regional Council, to organizations such as NWT Chamber of Mines, the board began to actively seek out the concerns, issues and suggestions of its stakeholders. I understand that this was the first time that the WCB has appeared in the communities of Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay.
In addition, Mr. Speaker, the board mailed thousands of copies of a newsletter titled, Directions, to stakeholders across the territories. This newsletter was not some empty marketing exercise. It identified key issues affecting the future of compensation and it presented the pros and cons of each issue. I'm pleased, Mr. Speaker, that the newsletter will be continuing on a quarterly basis with the second issue of it having been just recently released.
The input received from these meetings and from submissions by the board stakeholders, have been very useful to the new board in developing the corporate plan which I will be pleased to table today. The requirement for a corporate plan, Mr. Speaker, is set out in the Financial Administration Act but this plan has not been created as a paper to be filed away. Rather, this three year corporate plan will enable the board to implement new programs and policies that answer a number of the important issues which directly affect the board's claims. Some of the initiatives identified in the plan have already begun, such as the newsletter, and the commitment to visit regional centres and communities. Others will take up to three years to complete.
Mr. Speaker, I'd like to draw your attention to some of the more important initiatives. The board has realized that it is not possible to work in isolation. The WCB has therefore established agreements and understandings with several GNWT departments. Safety and education programs and the workers' advisor position are now clearly defined by the WCB and the Department of Safety and Public Services. The board's safety and the young workers' educational program will be offered through the Department of Education.
The board also entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice with regard to inmate compensation and is now in the process of developing an MOU with the Department of Renewable Resources for the administration of the harvesters' compensation program and one with the NWT Housing Corporation to ensure compensation is available to supervisors working under the access program.
Many of the aspects of this plan are internal to the board's operation. But it will be seen by claimants and employers in the form of improved efficiency, lower operating costs and faster turn around. Mr. Speaker, the board has reduced its number of internal committees, from six to three, in order to provide more detailed decisions and expedite hearings. The format of the review committee has been changed. Formerly an external committee, it is now chaired by a full-time staff chairperson.
If we can reduce or eliminate injuries, assessment rates will obviously decline. The board has recently received a report from the Safety Education Advisory Committee, a volunteer body of employers and stakeholders. This report should allow the schools and industries to assist stakeholders in reducing accidents at the work site throughout the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, over the past months, the Workers' Compensation Board has been working toward building a more efficient, less costly system, while at the same time ensuring that the WCB is more accessible and open.
Last July, the board adopted a new impairment rating schedule, moving away from the AMA guidelines which were proving to be unfair, inaccurate and costly. It's my understanding that the board is looking at revising the classification system and implementing a merit rebate surcharge penalty program.
The board has sublet its first-floor space to a tenant, saving about $75,000 a year.
Rehabilitation programs are being carefully managed, to ensure that the services are targeted to the claimant's needs and abilities.
---Applause
The board has, however, adopted a funding strategy to return it to a fully funded position within one year, by a variety of means other than increasing employer premiums or reducing benefits to injured workers.
The primary aim of this corporate plan for the next three years is to maintain the benefits and remuneration paid to workers who are injured in the work place and at the same time achieve a balanced budget and a fully funded position.
The members of the Workers' Compensation Board are looking to the future of compensation in many ways. I believe that this new board is working to serve workers and employers on an individual basis by responding more effectively to the changing economic environment in which we live, taking the necessary steps to improve the quality of services provided to our clients and ensuring that the lines of communication remain open between the board, its staff, its stakeholders and the public. Thank you.
---Applause