Ontario providing financial assistance to employers

Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) is cutting premium rates in 2022 by $168 million, bringing the total reduction in premiums since 2018 to $2.4 billion.

In addition, the government is intending to introduce legislation that, if passed, would allow for a portion of the WSIB’s current reserve, currently valued at $6.1 billion, to be distributed to safe employers.

“We know shopkeepers and merchants on Main Streets across Ontario need help. That is why our government is taking action by modernizing the WSIB to support these employers and protect local jobs,” said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. “This package will save employers hundreds of millions of dollars that can be reinvested in new jobs, technology, and health and safety protections. At the same time, injured workers will continue to receive the benefits and services they deserve.”

The Ontario government is also proposing to enable the WSIB to work with the Canada Revenue Agency to streamline remittances for businesses. This change would reduce administrative costs and burdens by giving businesses an efficient one-stop-shop for submitting payroll deductions.

Closures in low-wage sectors due to the pandemic have resulted in a spike in Ontario’s Average Industrial Wage. As a result, the ceiling for worker benefits will be increasing by 9.45 per cent.