Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Review Of Workplace Safety System In Ontario



Panel Chair

Mr. Tony Dean






I had the privilege of participating as an observer at the Public Consultation process of Mr. Dean's panel in June 2010.

There were so many participants who wanted their story to be heard that the second day was needed and each participant was limited to exactly the same amount of time as all the others. Fairness seemed to be a priority.

Personal experience after personal experience; story after story of how the 'System' had let the injured worker down. How the 'System' was encouraging the very abuse against workers that the Internal Responsibility System had been created to resolve.

Mr. Dean patiently listened to each and every one. He asked questions. He showed sympathy and compassion for those workers who had been mistreated. He gathered data and information.

What will he and the Panel do with all that valuable information? Seeing the process in motion was heart-wrenching. Stories of people who had to punch in the day after being injured so that there would be no 'lost time'. People who had to comply to the employer's demands because they had families to take care of.

It seemed to me more vividly than ever before that the system was indeed broken. Can Mr. Dean resolve the MOL, WSIB & HSA's intricate and integrated workings to re-vamp it into something that works in Ontario? We must wait and see. His report which was to be completed for the Minister by this Fall has been delayed until December 2010. And with good reason!


Who is Mr. Dean ?

Tony Dean is a Professor in the School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Toronto, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. He advises on public service reform, with a focus on building capacity for policy and integrated service delivery.

From 2002 to 2008 Dean was Secretary of the Cabinet and Head of the 66,000-member Ontario Public Service. He also served as Deputy Minister of Labour, and as Deputy Minister of Policy in the Cabinet Office.

Dean is a recipient of the Order of Ontario and has also worked as an advisor to several federal government departments.

Panel Members

Academic

* Joan Eakin
* H. Allan Hunt
* Carolyn Tuohy

Employers

* Jattinder Dhillon
* John A. Macnamara
* Domenic Mattina

Labour

* Bud Calligan
* Vernon Edwards
* Carmine Tiano

* View all biographies at MOL Review Panel Page

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