Labour Pains: An Injured Worker Podcast

Occupational diseases can often seem invisible. Unlike a traumatic workplace injury, these illnesses often develop slowly, after years of breathing toxic dust, handling hazardous chemicals, or working in environments that cumulatively damage the body over time. And for many workers, by the time symptoms appear, proving that their illness was caused by work becomes an uphill battle. In the latest e...

In this episode we break down the Ontario Government’s proposed amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, as part of Bill 105, and the implications for injured & ill workers. If passed, these changes would be the most significant amendments to the compensation system in decades, and would impact how lost wages compensation is managed over time. The possible end of lock in provision...

Today’s episode is a discussion about how (and what) prescription medication is covered in Ontario, and whether or not it is time to expand that coverage. Our guest is MPP Robin Lennox, who recently introduced a motion calling on the Ontario government to expand the Ontario Drug Benefit. Labour Pains: An Injured Worker Podast (formerly InjuredWorkerCast) features conversations in the field of heal...

Today’s episode features contributions from legal experts John McKinnon and Chris Grawey, both of Injured Workers Community Legal Aid Clinic.  In today's episode, we're examining a little-known but deeply consequential policy: the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act's cutoff of wage loss benefits at the age of 65. On paper, it might sound like just another administrative rule. In practice, it raise...

Today’s episode features contributions from Steve Mantis and Marion Endicott, co-authors of “Who Killed Sir William? A Community-University Research Alliance Seeks Justice for Injured Workers.” On the surface, “Who Killed Sir William” is a book about workers compensation and community/university research partnerships, but it is much more than that. It is a blueprint for building alliances that can...

The City of Toronto is considering a bylaw that would restrict protest around what they are calling “vulnerable areas”.  Today, Tebasum Durani discusses the broader implications of this proposal on the community - and on injured workers - with Jack Copple. Jack Copple Jack Copple is an Organizer with the Toronto & York Region Labour Council. The Toronto & York Region Labour Council represe...

Today Tebasum Durani speaks to a worker named Margery about working in extreme temperatures, as well as to OFL President Laura Walton and MPP Peter Tabuns about the dangers of heat in the workplace and what needs to be done to keep workers safe. Sources: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety information on risks of working in the cold . Laurentian University Study on Heat Stress and W...

Today we’re hearing from Tebasum Durani and John McKinnon, who are both lawyers at IWC. John and Tabasum are discussing how Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance board - or WSIB - is funded, why it is funded that way, and also a controversial decision for Ontario’s WSIB to hand over $2.5 billion dollars to employers in the lead up to an anticipated spring election. What Injured Workers Need⁠ do...