Six Canadian workers compensation boards currently hold a surplus of $4.9 billion that should be returned to small business owners, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says.
Workers compensation boards (WCBs) in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and the Yukon have all exceeded their funding targets—yet only one of the “overfunded” boards legislates mandatory returns to employers, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’s (CFIB) latest research snapshot.
Nine out of the 12 Canadian boards have a policy to return surplus funds to business owners, but only the Ontario government has legislated mandatory rebates under set targets, the report said.
“CFIB encourages all provinces to follow Ontario’s lead and make the return of WCB surplus funds law,” CFIB director of provincial affairs for Ontario Julie Kwiecinski said in a press release. “We also urge all governments that have boards with surpluses over their funding targets to issue employer rebates now, and regularly in the future.”
Under Ontario law, rebates become mandatory when WSIB funding levels hit 125 percent, the report said, but rebates can be issued once funds reach the discretionary range of 115 percent to 124.9 percent.
The legislation led to $1.2 billion in surplus funds being distributed to nearly 300,000 eligible Ontario businesses in April 2022.
Of the six boards listed in the report, Manitoba’s board is the most “overfunded,” operating at 160 percent of its 130 percent funding target. New Brunswick places second on the list, coming in at 156 percent, well above its 125 percent target, while PEI is operating at 144 percent of its 125 percent funding target. B.C. and Yukon are both operating at 142 percent of their funding targets, which are 130 percent and 129 percent respectively.
The report estimates returning excess WCB money to employers could provide a small business with five employees a rebate ranging from $1,745 in Ontario to $5,360 in New Brunswick.
The Epoch Times contacted the six WCBs mentioned in the report for comment but did not receive a response prior to publication.
CFIB director of research Marvin Cruz said “overfunded” boards could issue rebates to small businesses without “coming close to affecting worker payouts.”
“Little has changed since our report last year, and the same five boards—with a new addition of Ontario—are sitting on huge surpluses they don’t need while small businesses struggle with lower consumer demand and rising costs on all levels,” Cruz said in the press release.
“These surplus funds would allow business owners to pay down their debt, offset the elevated costs of doing business, invest in their employees through health and safety and other measures, and grow their business.”
The CFIB also issued several recommendations to provincial and territorial governments as part of its report.
It is urging WCBs to return surplus funds to employers or lower employer premiums where the funding ratio exceeds the board’s funding target.
The business group is also suggesting all governments legislate the return of WCB surplus funds to eligible employers as well as implement mandatory distribution policies to ensure surplus funds are returned on a regular basis.
It also called for increased transparency by setting dates to publicly release board funding levels.
