Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The data that was provided actually came from the WSCC. They are the ones who actually track all the clients’ costs and claims incidences.

With respect to late fees for late filing of incidents, I share the Member’s concerns completely. When I saw that data, the first thing I did was direct the department to start digging in to find out why we are late, because it seems to me that we should never be late. That information hasn’t been fully compiled. Once I have that information, I will share that with the Member and committee. I would like an opportunity to sit down and brief committee on some of the data that has been provided and I will be following up in that as well.

With respect to the late fees, one thing that has already come in so far is that many of our

employees who work shiftwork may be injured on a weekend or after regular hours. If somebody happens to be injured on a Friday and they don’t submit until Monday, we the government, would be assessed a late fee. We need to find ways to streamline our applications or notifications of injuries straight into the WSCC so we don’t get any more of these late fines.

I agree with the Member completely; this is something that we need to address. We should never be in a situation where we have to pay late fines for late notification. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.