Fourth Session – Forty-First Legislature of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba DEBATES and PROCEEDINGS Official Report (Hansard) Published under the authority of The Honourable Myrna Driedger Speaker Vol. LXXII No. 49A - 10 a.m., Thursday, May 9, 2019 ISSN 0542-5492 MANITOBA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Forty-First Legislature Member Constituency Political Affiliation ALLUM, James Fort Garry-Riverview NDP ALTEMEYER, Rob Wolseley NDP BINDLE, Kelly Thompson PC CLARKE, Eileen, Hon. Agassiz PC COX, Cathy, Hon. River East PC CULLEN, Cliff, Hon. Spruce Woods PC CURRY, Nic Kildonan PC DRIEDGER, Myrna, Hon. Charleswood PC EICHLER, Ralph, Hon. Lakeside PC EWASKO, Wayne Lac du Bonnet PC FIELDING, Scott, Hon. Kirkfield Park PC FLETCHER, Steven, Hon. Assiniboia Man. FONTAINE, Nahanni St. Johns NDP FRIESEN, Cameron, Hon. Morden-Winkler PC GERRARD, Jon, Hon. River Heights Lib. GOERTZEN, Kelvin, Hon. Steinbach PC GRAYDON, Clifford Emerson Ind. GUILLEMARD, Sarah Fort Richmond PC HELWER, Reg Brandon West PC ISLEIFSON, Len Brandon East PC JOHNSON, Derek Interlake PC JOHNSTON, Scott St. James PC KINEW, Wab Fort Rouge NDP KLASSEN, Judy Kewatinook Lib. LAGASSÉ, Bob Dawson Trail PC LAGIMODIERE, Alan Selkirk PC LAMONT, Dougald St. Boniface Lib. LAMOUREUX, Cindy Burrows Lib. LATHLIN, Amanda The Pas NDP LINDSEY, Tom Flin Flon NDP MALOWAY, Jim Elmwood NDP MARCELINO, Flor Logan NDP MARCELINO, Ted Tyndall Park NDP MARTIN, Shannon Morris PC MAYER, Colleen, Hon. St. Vital PC MICHALESKI, Brad Dauphin PC MICKLEFIELD, Andrew Rossmere PC MORLEY-LECOMTE, Janice Seine River PC NESBITT, Greg Riding Mountain PC PALLISTER, Brian, Hon. Fort Whyte PC PEDERSEN, Blaine, Hon. Midland PC PIWNIUK, Doyle Arthur-Virden PC REYES, Jon St. Norbert PC SARAN, Mohinder The Maples Ind. SCHULER, Ron, Hon. St. Paul PC SMITH, Andrew Southdale PC SMITH, Bernadette Point Douglas NDP SMOOK, Dennis La Verendrye PC SQUIRES, Rochelle, Hon. Riel PC STEFANSON, Heather, Hon. Tuxedo PC SWAN, Andrew Minto NDP TEITSMA, James Radisson PC WHARTON, Jeff, Hon. Gimli PC WIEBE, Matt Concordia NDP WISHART, Ian Portage la Prairie PC WOWCHUK, Rick Swan River PC YAKIMOSKI, Blair Transcona PC 1733 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA Thursday, May 9, 2019 The House met at 10 a.m. Mr. Tom Lindsey (Flin Flon): I move, seconded by the member for Minto (Mr. Swan), that Bill 224, The Madam Speaker: O Eternal and Almighty God, Workers Compensation Amendment Act–oh, I'm not from Whom all power and wisdom come, we are going to read the French part now–Act–wait a assembled here before Thee to frame such laws as minute–be now read a second time and be referred to may tend to the welfare and prosperity of our a committee of this House. province. Grant, O merciful God, we pray Thee, that we may desire only that which is in accordance with Madam Speaker: It has been moved by the Thy will, that we may seek it with wisdom and know honourable member for Flin Flon, seconded by it with certainty and accomplish it perfectly for the the honourable member for Minto, that Bill 224, glory and honour of Thy name and for the welfare of The Workers Compensation Amendment Act, be all our people. now read a second time and referred to a committee Please be seated. Good morning, everybody. of this House. ORDERS OF THE DAY Mr. Lindsey: It gives me great pleasure and is really an honour this morning to stand up and introduce this PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS bill for second reading. Ms. Nahanni Fontaine (Official Opposition House It's an important bill for working people in this Leader): For House business this morning, we province, and I'm happy to see some of our friends would like to call from 10 to 10:30 a.m. Bill 224, from labour are here in the House because they also The Workers Compensation Amendment Act. From recognize the importance of stress in the workplace. 10:30 to 11 a.m. we will call Bill 236, The Celebrating Manitoba 150 Act. Miigwech. Presently, the compensation act only covers single traumatic incidents of stress to be covered by Madam Speaker: It has been announced that the compensation. What this bill does is it expands upon House will consider second readings of bills 224 and that to recognize that stress is caused by much more 236 this morning. In Bill 224, that bill's debate will than just a single traumatic incident. go from 10 to 10:30, and debate on Bill 236 will proceed from 10:30 to 11 o'clock. I came out of a workplace; I've talked to Introduction of Guests workers; I've seen the effects on workers who had to go off work without income simply because the Madam Speaker: Prior to starting debate, we have stress levels that they were experiencing because of some guests in the Speaker's gallery that I would like things that were happening in the workplace were to introduce to you. just too great. These are very special guests. We have Ginette I know, Madam Speaker, that after a smelter Michaud visiting from Washington, D.C., and Nicole explosion in the year 2000 in Flin Flon, there were Michaud-Oystryk and Lawrence Oystryk from many workers that had experienced similar incidents Winnipeg, and our guests are the sisters and brother- in the past, that even though they weren't on shift that in-law of Claude Michaud, our hard-working day, the effect of that accident on their mental health journals clerk. caused them stress that those of us who haven't been On behalf of all members here, we welcome through that kind of traumatic series of events could you. never possibly imagine. SECOND READINGS–PUBLIC BILLS So it's important that we recognize that there are many things that can cause stress, things–bullying, Bill 224–The Workers Compensation harassment–things that are ongoing, things that don't Amendment Act just happen one single time. And those things need to Madam Speaker: I will now call Bill 224–second be recognized for what they are, which are reading of 224, The Workers Compensation workplace accidents. And that's why we've included Amendment Act. in the language of the act to capture it as an accident, 1734 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 9, 2019 because that's what it is. It's an accident to your So, by including it in part of the compensation mental health, which the workplace health and safety act, it really drives employers to do a better job, act itself talks about not just physical accidents but which will lead to more productive employees, will mental well-being as well. lead to safer, healthier, happier workplaces, but it also guarantees that workers can get the coverage It seems the ideal time to expand coverage of that they need, can get the help that they need to deal workers' compensation to workers that are injured with stressors. when the compensation board decides to give $74 million back to employers because they think And it has to be recognized, Madam Speaker, there's no more accidents. Madam Speaker, there that it's not just a single, traumatic incident that are accidents. There are accidents to our mental causes stress, although single, traumatic incidents do health. There's incidents that affect us, that affect our and can cause stress. And it's taken years to have families, that affect a worker's ability to continue workplaces and workers compensation boards across going to work. They should not have to face losing the country recognize that even those types of single, that which they've worked hard for because of an traumatic incidents that cause stress really need to be accident at work, whether it's a physical accident or treated like an accident in the workplace, because it's an accident to their mental health. What this does is not that many years ago that they were not. I believe guarantees people coverage under The Workers I took part in a review of the compensation act a Compensation Act for those types of accidents. number of years ago that included at least the single, traumatic incident of causing stress, because it was The concept of mental health certainly was not never included in the act at all. contemplated in the early 1900s when the compensation act was first envisioned. But then, So, really, as we move forward in society, as we neither were many other types of accidents that are progress in society and understand more about present in workplaces today. The compensation acts whether it's asbestos and the diseases that it causes, it over the years have changed to recognize new types should be recognized under The Workers of accidents, new types of stressors, things that have Compensation Act. When you get it at work or always been there, sometimes, but there was never whether it's stress, the result is still the same, Madam any scientific proof to capture them as being an Speaker. It's the negative impact on workers that accident. And certainly, mental health issues are needs to be identified and corrected, but it also needs more in the forefront in workplaces, in society, than to ensure that workers don't suffer negative financial they were once upon a time. consequences from accidents that are not necessarily in their control, which a lot of incidents of stress in So that's why I really want to stress the workplaces are not in the control of the worker that importance of continuing to expand coverage for suffers the stress, and it can be a broad range of workers who are injured at work.