Injury prevention work ‘failing’

A major labour association is calling for an independent Workers Compensation Board review as Manitoba leads the country in workplace injury rates.

Last year, 2.5 employees in every 100 reported a workplace injury serious enough to take time off, WCB tracking shows. The number is higher than any other province — just as it has been for the past three years, according to the Manitoba Federation of Labour.

(In 2025, the next highest time loss injury rate was in British Columbia: 2.04 people for every 100.)

“Our prevention work in Manitoba is failing Manitobans,” said Kevin Rebeck, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour. “We need an independent review to help shine a light on, ‘What is happening on the prevention front of WCB?’”

Such a study could include a scan of what other provinces are doing and which Manitoba data is and is not publicly available, Rebeck said.

The local time loss injury rate — which tracks how many workers per 100 take time off due to injury — has hovered between two and three for the past decade. In 2016, the WCB counted 2.9 people per 100.

It’s “the tip of the iceberg,” said Adam King, a University of Manitoba labour studies professor. “There’s a huge discrepancy between the number of injuries that actually take place in the economy and the number that are actually recognized as injuries.”

“We need an independent review to help shine a light on, ‘What is happening on the prevention front of WCB?’”

Workers may be afraid to report their injuries or don’t understand their rights. Immigrants are especially vulnerable, King said.

The data doesn’t show whether Manitoba workplaces are less safe than those in other provinces, or if the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba accepts more claims than its peers, King noted. “In any case, the fact that Manitoba has the highest in the country should be concerning to anyone who’s concerned about workers’ rights.”

Labour Minister Malaya Marcelino said she’s open to an independent review of the WCB. First, she’s waiting for results from workplace injury prevention studies: WCB is conducting one internally and Deloitte is leading another.

“I’m very disappointed in these results, and we will be doing what we can to make a marked improvement,” Marcelino said. “This is unacceptable for Manitoba workers.”

Results from the ongoing studies should come “imminently,” she added.

The Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba is working collaboratively with employers, workers and stakeholders to reduce workplace injuries, spokesman Kyle Vince wrote in a statement.

Focusing on deterrents — such as higher financial penalties for unsafe work practices — would help with overall safety, King said.

The Manitoba Federation of Labour flagged rebates: the WCB returned $90 million in premiums to employers this year, citing a positive 2025 financial performance.

“Rather than giving a rebate to employers, we’d much rather see them invest more in making workplaces safer,” Rebeck said.

However, an independent review would mean jumping from “the first step to the 10th step,” said Loren Remillard, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.

Sending the case to the province’s labour management review committee is a more appropriate move, he said. The committee includes labour and business representatives.

Members could decide an independent review is needed, Remillard noted.

“We take the matter of workplace injuries seriously,” he said. “It’s why industry has invested significant dollars to create associations and to continue to refine their programs.

“It is a shared goal.”

“Rather than giving a rebate to employers, we’d much rather see them invest more in making workplaces safer.”

Meantime, the Workers Compensation Act is being scrutinized through a mandatory review.

The Manitoba government announced appointments to its review committee last year. Its four members have backgrounds with the Manitoba Labour Board, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Manitoba Federation of Labour and Manitoba Trucking Association.

“The worry is … you would have changes move forward that one side sees as favourable, and the other side has significant reservations,” Remillard said, adding he’s hoping for consensus.

“When that balance gets upended, it creates challenges not just on operations, but in terms of attracting new business investments into the province.”

Marcelino said she’s spoken to committee members who are “working hard to come up with consensus decisions.”

“What we want to see is a culture shift in safety and health, and that means bringing people together,” she said.

Between one and two workers per 100 had injuries leading to time off last year in other provinces, according to respective government and workers compensation board reporting: Saskatchewan (1.66 workers per 100), Alberta (1.4), Prince Edward Island (1.28), Ontario (1.23), Nova Scotia (1.21), Newfoundland (1.2) and New Brunswick (1.1).

The Manitoba government is enacting 49 recommendations from a workplace safety and health act review, including hiring 12 new workplace safety and health officers, Marcelino said.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com