Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT Safe Advantage penalties for Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission have been tabled in this House and have risen from zero dollars in 2009-2010 programming, to $243,583 in 2010-2011 and a whopping $508,625 in 2011-2012.
In the Department of Human Resources’ own words, it claims to “have taken significant steps in the development of health and safety programs in the last few years. Current results demonstrate that there is work to be done across the GNWT to ensure the safety of all our employees and reduce claims cost experience.”
The Regular Members sure hope that the Minister and his department will clearly address this indicator of shortcomings from its own safety performance and lead by example, as we expect all our contractors to do the same.
However, I am not here today to shine a light on this huge cost to taxpayers. I am more interested in sharing my findings on how our poor performance in claims growth, as WSCC’s largest employer, has had on the whole industry. Moreover, the question that I think needs to be asked is: Is NWT business subsidizing our government’s poor ratings and costs to WSCC?
Let me explain. Most businesses would have received lately a WSCC notice of their 2013 employer assessments on their rates. In this notice it explains the doom and gloom of rising health care costs, the depressed markets, and the need to sustain the fund to protect employers and injured workers; all noble causes. It further explains that in July this year, WSCC advised employers of a 28 cent increase in the 2013 provisional target assessment rate, from $1.77 to $2.05 per $100 of assessable payroll. This, according to WSCC’s own numbers, works out to a whopping 13.7 percent increase this year on average.
Payroll premiums such as this are a significant expense for any employer, yet to most people this is a complex topic. The business community knows the level of premium an employer pays is directly related on the claims experience of such industry and class. Furthermore, depending on your previous year’s performance, it can have a significant impact on your assessment.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted