What are the unintended consequences of workers’ compensation and labour mobility concerns with mutual recognition between provinces?

The Nova Scotia Federation of Labour raises many concerns regarding Workers’ Compensation practices and the potential challenges of removing interprovincial trade barriers. These issues have significant implications for Nova Scotia workers and employers and require urgent attention. Here are but a few of the many unanswered questions. Without a seat at the table, we will continue to seek answers as best we can.

A few of our key concerns are that 26% of Nova Scotia’s workforce is currently exempt from workers’ compensation coverage, leaving some 50,000 workers without coverage due to our provincial rules. Twenty-six percent is a significant proportion of our workforce without coverage. That means that only 74% of workers have coverage. Ontario has about 76% of workers covered, while British Columbia and Alberta have higher coverage rates, at about 93% and 92%, respectively. Other provinces also exclude specific industries or workers from mandatory coverage. If workers from other provinces come to Nova Scotia to work and must comply with these exemptions, whose exceptions apply is the question, the province they are from or the province they work in. This may leave some workers without workers’ compensation protection, which is deeply troubling.

We are also concerned about the potential strain on workers’ compensation administration in Nova Scotia if workplace accidents increase. Workers from other provinces may not be used to our safety rules, leading to increased injuries and administrative responsibilities, which might create delays and inefficiencies in the system. If workers come from other provinces to work here, will their employers need to pay workers’ compensation premiums in both provinces? Likely not? Will we get cost recovery, and if there is a dispute, how does it get resolved? Or will the province where the worker resides be responsible for any costs related to workplace injuries or fatalities without question? These complex questions remain unanswered, and having provinces do mutual recognition means provincial mutual recognition agreements may override any non-legislative workers’ compensation agreements in place now by those systems in provinces.  

We need more workers in every province, that’s clear. What’s not clear is that this removal of interprovincial trade barriers, allowing workers to move more freely to work, is only moving the same workers around between provinces, like checkers. That will not help expand the workforce to create more workers. It’s doing little to fill the need all over. Removing trade barriers and rules on certifications will not create more new workers, and it’s not outside-the-box thinking. Upskilling and building more programs to get workers into the workforce in good-paying unionized jobs is needed. Robbing workers from other provinces is not the answer.

On another point, the food and beverage sector in Nova Scotia, including the wine industry example, could face challenges from cheaper imports from other provinces. Mutual recognition is a two-way street, and it will be hard for our small provinces to compete with others, like Ontario and British Columbia, on wine, for example. What if they flood our market?

Another point is that public procurement contracts for infrastructure or services could be awarded to out-of-province firms, reducing opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nova Scotia and potentially leading to job losses in rural areas.

The last point is mutual recognition between provinces, which will leave us with a mismatch of agreements with some provinces and not others. Provinces have their own minimum standards, some better than others, and Nova Scotia’s minimum standards are at the bottom and old. We need a baseline of minimum standards for workers where all provinces agree, like the federal standards code, to have a level playing field. As we said, we will have a mismatch of rules with mutual recognition between provinces, where some provinces are in and others are not. That is not good and will create unintended consequences to the detriment of workers.

The Nova Scotia Federation of Labour wants to ensure that all workers, regardless of where they come from, are safe on the job and have access to the compensation they deserve and need if they are injured. We are actively engaging with the Workers’ Compensation Board better to understand the challenges and ramifications of these issues. Our goal is to protect the rights and well-being of workers while ensuring a fair and functional system for workers and employers. A system that responds quickly and efficiently to help workers. We will continue to advocate for clarity and fairness as we navigate these critical matters. Workers’ safety and rights must always come first.