WorkSafeBC

The previous era saw the introduction of new programs and facilities: the Rehabilitation Centre opened, the Industrial Hygiene department was founded, and many more new services were offered. Of course, since these new services cost money, the percentage of income going to Board operations steadily decreased.

With the new Act changing from Workmen's Compensation to Workers Compensation and the arrival of the first modern-style computer, the WCB began the change to a mature mid-sized organization. Services to both injured workers and industry steadily improved throughout this period while the cost of Board operations (as a percent of income) stayed constant.

• The Workmen's Compensation Act is repealed and Workers Compensation Act substituted.
• It is now an offence under the Act for employers or supervisory personnel to dissuade workers from reporting injuries or hazardous conditions to the Board.
  
• The Act authorizes payment for the training or retraining of a surviving dependent spouse, in the same way that such expenditures are made for disabled workers.
• A 24-hour telephone answering service for Accident Prevention is instituted early in the year. Emergency calls can now be received and dealt with after normal working hours and on weekends and holidays.
• The Board seeks to improve adjudication and rehabilitation by appointing a psychologist to the staff. The initial phase of psychological services for claimants consists largely of providing psychological assessments and consultations in complex cases.
• The Workers' Compensation Board Employees' Union is certified as the bargaining agent for Board employees. Negotiations between the Board and the Union conclude with the signing of the first collective agreement on October 9.
  

• An Accident Prevention program is initiated for the inspection of fishing vessels. This results in 427 inspection reports and 4,151 orders issued.
• The Survival First Aid Program launches. The program covers workers in high-risk industries working more than 20 minutes surface travelling time from their employer's main first-aid facilities.
• The Board completes its plan, begun in September of 1974, to decentralize claims adjudication. Claims are now adjudicated in Chilliwack, Courtenay, Cranbrook, Fort St. John, Kamloops, Nanaimo, Nelson, Penticton, Prince George, Prince Rupert, Terrace, Vernon, Victoria, Williams Lake, and Vancouver area offices.
• The first parts of the Claims Adjudication Manual are published containing the operational rules for the claims adjudication system.
• A safety information program is publicized on television and radio, and in newspapers and other publications.

• The schedule of worksite inspections to enforce the Accident Prevention Regulations is determined partially with the aid of a computer program. Research begins into the possibility of using the computer to schedule inspections according to firms' injury records, in order to concentrate inspection and education efforts on problem areas.
• The Board suspends its fishing vessel inspection activities following assurance from the Federal Ministry of Transport that the Board's concern in this area would be given expression through participation in the new Federal Fishing Vessel Safety Program.
• The second phase of construction of the Leslie R. Peterson Rehabilitation Centre in Richmond commences and is expected to be completed in late 1977. This phase incorporates clinic facilities to house the Rehabilitation Clinic still located on 37th Avenue in Vancouver.
  

• Following nearly four years of preparation in cooperation with management and labour, the revised Industrial Health & Safety Regulations are published, effective January 1, 1978.
• The final phase of the Rehabilitation Centre is complete. In December, the Rehabilitation Clinic moves to its new Richmond facilities at the Centre which includes the Rehabilitation Residence.
• The Board implements a major change in its organizational structure by incorporating all departments within five separate divisions:
  • Administration & Finance
  • Legal Services
  • Medical Services
  • Prevention Services
  • Compensation Services.
• Promotion of the Survival First Aid training program continues throughout the year. Since its inception in 1975, 24,450 workers have received certification.
  
  

• The workplace inspection schedule is modified to place high-hazard industries and firms with poor claims records at the top of the priority list. The decrease in the number of inspections undertaken during the year reflects the increased time involved in conducting a full inspection of a high-hazard firm.
• A four-week diploma course is designed present to safety officers and others concerned with accident prevention and industrial hygiene.
• Sixteen workers are recipients of the Belt-Up Awards. Introduced in 1977, the awards recognize workers whose buckled-up seat belts have saved them from serious injury or possible death on the job.
• Representatives of the Canadian Council on Hospital Accreditation survey the Rehabilitation Clinic and, having met the standards for quality care as set by Council, the clinic is awarded accreditation for two years.
• Since 1970 the Clinic's orthopedic shoe shop has been making custom footwear for claimants throughout the province. Production now totals over 600 pairs per year.
• The Hearing Branch begins a computerized system to handle industrial audiometric data. The data is used increasingly to direct the efforts of Board inspection officers working in the areas of industrial hearing conservation and noise control.
  
  

• Public hearings on the Industrial Health and Safety Regulations are held in April and revised regulations are published in August. The First Aid Regulations are also revised.
• A Noise Control section is established in the Prevention Services Division to promote the control of industrial noise and the prevention of occupational hearing loss.
• The Board, after consideration of the subject of disclosure of claim file contents, determines that summaries of pertinent claim file information will be available on request, where there is an appealable issue.
• The services of the new Back Evaluation and Education Program (BEEP) are in full operation by mid-year.
• A major health study of workers in the pulp and paper industry is completed by researchers from the University of British Columbia and funded by the Board.

• Schedule B of the Act, concerning the presumption of causes of industrial diseases and certain industries in the claims adjudication process, is revised and expanded.
• The Board sponsors a two-day Forest Products Safety Conference in October, entitled "Challenges for the 80's". It is attended by 800 industry representatives.
• New office facilities are constructed and occupied in Nanaimo and Victoria.
• A major health study is completed at Alcan's Kitimat plant by researchers from the University of British Columbia, the second in a series funded by the Board.

• A major reorganization of the Industrial Health and Safety Division results in the formation of three departments (Industrial Hygiene, Industrial Safety, and Occupational Health) and a Support Services Section.
• A significant departure is made from the long-standing policy of not allowing access to claim file information. Following a decision of the Court of Appeal of B.C. that the Board should disclose medical information from its claim files to claimants involved in appeals, the Board decides to provide access to the whole of the claim file to claimants who are appealing a Board decision. The Board also decides that employers involved in an appeal should be entitled to see the claim file. The employer's access to the file, however, is limited to seeing those documents which are relevant to the issue under appeal.
• The United Nations proclaims 1981 International Year of Disabled Persons. The Board seeks to increase awareness about the employment of injured workers by holding a series of labour/management seminars throughout the province.
  
  

• In a massive three-day exercise in November, the entire administration of the Board moves from Vancouver to the new building in Richmond adjacent to the Rehabilitation Centre.
• The commissioners alter the management structure of the Board, so that the decisions formerly made by an Executive Committee are handled directly by the commissioners themselves. Each commissioner becomes responsible for a specific area of the Board's operation.
• A more systematic way of updating the Industrial Health and Safety Regulations is established. The Regulation Advisory Committee is formed with representatives from labour and management, as well as experts from the engineering and occupational medicine areas. The committee, together with Board staff, reviews all submissions for new or amended regulations in an on-going process, as opposed to the former system of periodic reviews.
• The decision-making process within the Board is opened up for public scrutiny. The Industrial Health and Safety Division, Compensation Services Division, and the Assessment Department are instructed to compile all existing internal policy manuals and draft them so the manuals will be readily understandable by the general public. The manuals are to be completed by early 1983 and made available to the public at all Board offices.

• Compensation coverage for farmworkers begins on April 4.
• The Claims and Vocational Rehabilitation policy manuals are combined into one, with a target completion date of early 1984.
• A second Back Evaluation and Education Program (BEEP) is established in the Rehabilitation Centre.
• The Assessment Department completes its policy manual, setting out policy and significant procedures affecting employers.
• Unfunded liability decreases 14% from 1982, due to a decline in accident rates, improved rate of return on the Board's investments, and net gains in assessment income resulting from rate increases.

• Due to a significant decline in the volume of claims, a review of Compensation Services operational efficiency is undertaken. The review results in a reorganization of regional services into nine regional centres down from fourteen. Offices in Chilliwack, Fort St. John, Penticton, Prince Rupert, and Williams Lake close.
• Revisions to the First Aid Regulations reduce the period for which a Survival First Aid Certificate is valid from four years to two.
• A decision is made in March to phase the farming industry into the regulatory process.
• Tougher penalties are introduced for violations of the Industrial Health and Safety Regulations.
• A toll-free telephone service is introduced so the WCB’s Richmond office can be reached from anywhere in the province.

• The Workplace Act replaces the Factory Act in order to consolidate occupational safety and health services. This Act and its regulations transfers personnel and duties of the Labour Ministry's Occupational Environment Branch to the Board.
• The Information Systems Department is created under the supervision of a newly-appointed Chief Information Officer.
• The Experience Rating Plan (ERA) for employer assessments is introduced towards the end of the year for January 1986 implementation.

• Based on the claim cost experience of individual firms, ERA results in adjustments to the 1986 assessment rates for most employers in the forest, metal mining, construction, heavy manufacturing, and trucking industries. Those with higher-than-average claim costs pay increased assessments, while those with lower-than-average claim costs receive an assessment reduction.
• An online pension system is introduced, and direct-deposit of pension cheques is offered as an alternative to mail.
• Fax machines arrive at the Board.
• The Board institutes an internal no-smoking policy.
• The unfunded liability is eliminated.

• The Access Ability program, a 12-month course designed to train injured workers as computer programmers, is introduced. Representatives from more than 50 companies form a Business Advisory Council, which advises the Board at every stage of the program. This innovative vocational rehabilitation program is the first of its kind in Canada.
• The Board receives an award for excellence in occupational safety and health services from the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards & Commissions.
• A public awareness campaign featuring Rick Hansen is initiated. Two television commercials and numerous newspaper articles publicize the Board's efforts encouraging employers to hire the disabled.

• The Occupational Safety and Health Division implements the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS). WHMIS is a nation-wide system of regulations requiring all hazardous materials to be properly labelled and accompanied by relevant safety information. Board staff have been involved in WHMIS since its inception in 1979.
• Almost one quarter of all claims for compensation are made by workers between the ages of 15 and 24. A safety education program, Safety...Make It Work For You, is designed for young workers. It teaches students in grades 10 and 11 the basics of safety. The program is the first of its kind introduced by a Canadian compensation board.
• A $14.8 million credit is provided to 4,010 eligible employers in eight industry groups. A decline in accident rates and improved investment returns make this credit possible.
• A public awareness campaign, Alcohol and Drug Abuse in the Workplace, is launched.

• For the first time in the Board's history more than 200,000 claims are received and more than 100,000 employers are registered.
• The Board and the Workers' Compensation Employees Union are involved in a work stoppage of just under four weeks during negotiations to renew the contract.

• The Workers Compensation Amendment Act provides for a major overhaul of the Board's organizational structure:
  • A Board of Governors is created.
  • Five employer and five worker representative Governors are appointed on March 15.
  • While the Chair of the Board of Governors, James E. Dorsey, is appointed on November 9, the President/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Chief Appeal Commissioner, and two public interest governors have yet have to be named at year-end.
• The Assessment Department implements a computerized online registration system.

• This year's surplus is $66.5 million, with a funding ratio of 102 percent.
• Under the new organizational structure, the legislative function of policy-making goes to the Governors, the executive functions go to the President/CEO, and the judicial functions go to the Chief Appeal Commissioner.
• Ken Dye is appointed the first President/CEO, and Connie Munro is appointed Chief Appeal Commissioner, both effective June 3.
• The pension system is updated to provide more efficient processing of pension cheques to permanently disabled workers. It directly benefits 26,000 men and women who receive pension cheques.
• MEMO, an electronic mail system, is expanded from an original pilot group of 300 staff to some 1,550 and now involves more than 70% of Board employees.
• The Aspen voice mail system is implemented and 500 staff are using it by year-end.
• Grants and awards totaling almost $700,000 are made to fund workplace research by British Columbia colleges and universities.
• The Board conducts its first health and safety audit of all its properties. The objective of this audit is to set a baseline for development of a comprehensive safety and health program, so that the Board can measure its progress toward the goal of a zero accident rate.
• A joint management-union committee is formed to address environmental issues within the Board and to raise the environmental awareness among Board employees.
• The Appeal Division starts operating on June 3. A continuing backlog of appeals has been a source of concern for some years within the workers’ compensation community. The division’s starting backlog of 1,742 files is cut to 624 by year-end.
• The Board hosts the annual conference of the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada.

• The Workers’ Compensation Board celebrates 75 years of service.
• The Quarterly Report starts in the first quarter of the year as a means of analyzing progress towards achieving operational objectives.
• More than 112,000 registered employers and 1.3 million workers are covered by the Board, and they show a shifting profile of industry in B.C. The resource-based economy is invaded by a growing service sector, and an influx of small business and self-employed workers creates unique safety needs and concerns.
• The Kamloops area office opens. Several departments move to new facilities in Richmond at 8100 Granville Avenue, 6711 Elmbridge Way, and 6300 River Road.
• As part of its mandate to promote workplace health and safety, the Board issues grants and awards totaling $542,169.
• The Governors initiate a comprehensive review of the regulations, most of which are more than a decade old.
• The Medical Services Division tackles one of the most costly and difficult medical challenges: chronic pain. The concept of early intervention is introduced through a pilot project and test programs are scheduled to begin next year.
• The Rehabilitation Centre (previously the Clinic) celebrates its 50^th anniversary.
• The Board leads the way in establishing a new system for compiling and reporting financial data for Canadian compensation boards. This progressive initiative is the first ever effort to standardize financial reporting among the compensation boards.
• The Human Resources Department reorganizes to create three separate departments: Labour Relations, Human Resources, and Corporate Education.
• The Governors approve the creation of a new senior management position, Vice-President Human Resources and Corporate Development.

• The Governors terminate the appointment of the President/CEO and begin the search for a replacement. They appoint James E. Dorsey as President/CEO (also serving as Chairman) as an interim measure until a new President/CEO is selected.
• Legislative change extends mandatory coverage to virtually all employers and workers in the province.
• The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act comes into effect and becomes applicable to the Board on October 4.
• The regulation review process continues, and hundreds of hours are devoted to extensive consultations with workers and employers. New regulations and policies for their implementation include coverage of:
  • the agriculture industry (effective April 1993)
  • protection of workers from violence in the workplace (effective November 1993)
  • permissible concentration levels of 16 airborne contaminants (effective November 1993) and
  • updated first aid regulations (effective January 1994).
• The management of Lower Mainland claims files are reorganized into seven new service delivery locations, each serving a specific geographic region: Vancouver Centre/North, Vancouver South, Richmond, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Surrey, and Abbotsford. Instead of allocating claims on the basis of the injured worker’s personal address, claims are assigned according to the workplace location, simplifying access to claims information for both injured workers and employers.
• A Vancouver market research firm conducts the Board’s first client service survey, interviewing 400 injured workers and 400 employers.
• The Financial Services Division and the Information Systems Division consolidate into a single division: the Finance/Information Services Division. The merger intends to bring sharper financial focus to the Board’s information systems and development projects, while aligning these to long-term strategies.
• The Occupational Safety & Health Division changes its name to Prevention.
• In partnership with the Prevention Division, Information Services starts to develop the Mobile Office Project and the Inspection Order-Writing System.
• The Board and B.C. Tel partner for a pilot project that allows Form 7, used by employers to report accidents, to be submitted electronically.
• A Supreme Court of Canada decision gives the Board the right to continue actions against U.S. manufacturers of asbestos products. In November the first group of 59 cases is settled in Texas.

• Dale G. Parker is hired as the new President/CEO in November.
• On January 1, workers' compensation coverage expands to nearly all B.C. workers and employers. An estimated equivalent of 1.5 million full-time workers are covered under the Workers Compensation Act, representing an increase of approximately 10 percent over 1993. A total of 138,249 employers are registered, up more than 21 percent from last year.
• An operating deficiency of $126 million increases the accumulated unfunded liability to $318 million at December 31, marking the fifth consecutive year of operating losses.
• To improve client service, five generic lower mainland claims units are realigned into seven service delivery locations (SDLs), each serving a specific geographic location.
• A special unit is established in April to deal with service delays. This unit completes more than 4,000 appellate returns and reopened files, which allows staff in the SDLs to concentrate on new and on-going claims.
• Sensitive Claims Services is introduced, combining the adjudication of fatal, terminal illness, and sexual assault claims.
• The first-in-depth inspection of Board facilities for health and safety regulation compliance is conducted at the request of senior management.
• The Board's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Office is established to enable the Board to conform to the requirements of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

• The provincial government replaces the Board of Governors with the Panel of Administrators in July.
• Following five years of operating deficits, the Board posts an operating surplus of $82 million, reducing the accumulated unfunded liability of the Board from $318 million to $236 million. As a result, average premium base rates for 1996 will rise by just 2.9%, compared to 6% average annual increases over the last five years.
• The injury rate declines by 5%, the lowest level ever experienced in the province, and cost per claim decreases.
• The Accident and Injury Reporting System (AIRS), allowing employers to report claims electronically, is installed at 35 employer sites by the end of the year.
• Five rehabilitation programs are developed:
  1. Occupational Rehabilitation for individuals whose medical condition is stable, yet need further rehabilitation to meet job requirements
  2. Medical Rehabilitation for medically complex cases, particularly musculoskeletal problems
  3. Pain Education for those experiencing chronic debilitating pain
  4. Work Conditioning for those who need active physiotherapy to improve strength, endurance, and mobility
  5. Worksite Reintegration for injured workers who are gradually returning to the workplace.
• The average length of time from injury to first payment is 28.5 days, a decrease from 32.8 days in 1994.
• A five-month pilot project to automate claims management is launched at the Coquitlam claim centre in November, the forerunner to an electronic claims process known as E-File.

• The provincial government announces the establishment of a royal commission to examine the workers’ compensation system, including governance. In addition, the government lays out guiding principles:
  • accident prevention
  • no-fault compensation
  • collective employer liability
  • industry funding
  • universal coverage and
  • administrative adjudication.
• A record low injury rate, a decreased severity of injuries, low inflation, and high investment returns result in a record operating surplus in 1996 of $313 million.
• A province-wide awareness campaign in newspapers and on television launches, bringing up home workplace health and safety as an important public issue.
• The Board's first web site (www.wcb.bc.ca) goes online, emphasizing basic information and access to publications.
• In cooperation with the Ministry of Education, a Student Worksafe package is introduced to Grades 11 and 12.
• The Board introduces the College Worksafe program, a collaboration between WCB educators and local colleges to provide instruction to young workers on health and safety programs and hazard identification in specific industries.
• The Accident and Injury Reporting System (AIRS) is installed in 157 sites, allowing another 122 employers to submit claims electronically. This system assists employers in analyzing their claim trends and costs and provides up-to-date information on claim adjudication.
• To provide workers and employers with 24-hour claims information, the Board tests an automatic voice response telephone line with a claim number and personal access number.
• The Board opens an Ombudsman Office to deal with fairness complaints from workers and employers. Its goal is to encourage overall fair practices and processes at the Board. The Ombudsman fields approximately 1,000 calls by year-end.
• The Board initiates several ways to discourage individual and organized fraud. By working with employers, workers, and community resources, the Board recovers five times the cost of the investigations.
• Board employees make a valuable contribution to the communities in which they live and work. In 1996, Helping Hands, the Board’s charitable committee, raises more than $133,000 through voluntary payroll deductions and fundraising events. Organizations benefiting from the Helping Hands include the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Vancouver Children’s Hospital, the Salvation Army, and B.C. Women’s Hospital.

• The Auditor General of B.C. conducts a review of the Board's system of internal and external accountability reporting and makes recommendations for changes. The Board posts strategic goals and specific targets in the 1997 Annual Report as a result of this review.
• The Panel of Administrators approves significant policy changes and service improvements, such as the approval of the new Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (to take effect April 15, 1998), electronic claims processing (E-File), case management (an interdisciplinary approach to managing claims unresolved four weeks after injury), and the Employer Services Strategy.
• The Royal Commission on Workers' Compensation holds extensive public hearings across the province and submits its first report on October 31, entitled Report on sections 2 and 3(a) of the Commission's terms of reference. This report includes 69 recommendations in the area of occupational health and safety, plus survivor benefits.
• The Board begins development of the Student WorkSafe curricula for grades kindergarten to ten, expanding the current program for grades 11 and 12.
• The Board implements the following rehabilitation initiatives: Continuum of Care, Early Intervention Program System (EIPS), and Visiting Specialists Clinic.
• The Prevention Division establishes a new Program Department devoted to facilitating the development of workers and employer health and safety initiatives, particularly those in the high-risk sector.
• The Board achieves a funding level of 102%, one of the few Boards in Canada to achieve a fully funded status.
• For the second consecutive year the majority of employers enjoy a decrease in their premiums. Over two years, the average premium rates have declined almost 10%.

• Ralph McGinn is appointed President and CEO in May, replacing Dale Parker.
• On April 15, the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation became law. The Prevention Division conducts information sessions for more than 20,000 employers and workers to ensure these new requirements are understood.
• The Board implements the recommendations made by the Auditor General to improve its accountability reporting, and the Panel of Administrators approves a restatement of the Board's strategic plan.
• The Board achieves an operating surplus ($298 million) for the fourth consecutive year. The Board's funding level rises to 106% in 1998. Investment returns in excess of inflation reach a decade-high record of 10.3 percent.
• The Board reduces the average premium rate for the third consecutive year.
• The Board completes the Student WorkSafe curricula for schools. This program is recognized with an award from the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering.
• The Board sponsors the BuildSafe Conference and the Occupational Hygiene Conference.
• Offices open in North Vancouver, Duncan, Williams Lake, and Penticton.
• E-File is deployed across the province and earns a silver medal in the Workflow/Process Management category of the 1998 GIGA Excellence Awards Competition.
• Two Internet-based applications, MediConnect and EmployerConnect, are launched as pilot projects.
• The Board implements a return-to-work program for employees.
• BoardNET, the WCB's corporate intranet, is launched on February 2.

• The Royal Commission publishes a three-volume report, For the common good: final report of the Royal Commission on Workers' Compensation in British Columbia.
• The Workers Compensation Amendment Act takes effect October 1 and introduces, among other things, further health and safety requirements.
• Schedule B of the Workers Compensation Act is updated for occupational diseases.
• The Research Secretariat is created to oversee research, its funding, and related activities sponsored by the Board. The Secretariat replaces the Grants and Awards Program (Finding Solutions) previously run by the Prevention Division.
• The Board's employer classification system is improved and updated by reclassifying and assigning new rates to registered businesses.
• The Board’s web site, WorkSafe™ online (www.worksafebc.com), is redesigned with a corporate focus, an updated look, and increasing functionality for employers and workers.
• B.C.'s injury rate, declining since 1994, reaches a record low of approximately 4.1 accidents per 100 person-years worked.
• The Board ends 1999 with an operating surplus of $235 million.

• The Policy and Regulation Development Bureau conducts public hearings on proposed amendments to the environmental tobacco smoke regulation in four locations across B.C.
• All Appeal decisions issued as of January 2000 are made available on the Board's web site, thereby implementing a recommendation from the Royal Commission.
• The Board launches the Employer Service Strategy and ER2000, the WCB’s new insurance program. As well, the Prevention Division opens the Small Business Service Centre and the Compensation Services Division launched the Adjudication Quality Initiative.
• The Board opens the Special Investigations Branch to investigate suspected fraudulent activities.
• The Board’s WorkSafe™ online web site (www.WorkSafebc.com) becomes the first site of its kind in Canada to offer employers self-serve options.
• The Policy and Regulation Development Bureau completes more than 15 policy issues that were considered priorities by the Panel of Administrators and date as far back as five years. Since the Bureau was formed there have been more than 40 policy resolutions.
• The injury rate is reduced to 17% below what it was in 1995 and stands at a historic low of 4.0 accepted short-term disability claims per 100 person-years worked.
• The Board is 109 percent funded, and the average premium rate drops to $1.75, the lowest in the past decade.

• 2001 marks a year of global change as virtually every organization in North America is affected by the events of September 11. The downturn in the global economy has a negative impact on the Board’s investment portfolio and contributes to an operating loss for the year.
• For the first time in six years the Panel of Administrators approves a small increase of 1% in the average base assessment rate.
• The overall injury rate is reduced by 5% to 3.7 accepted short-term disability claims per 100 person-years of employment.
• The provincial government announces the Core Services Review for all ministries, boards, commissions, and government agencies, including the Board.
• The Data Warehouse project is initiated as a valuable profiling aid to allow better understanding of individual employers.
• The Health and Safety Centre is added to the Board’s WorkSafe Online web site (www.WorkSafebc.com). Online claim status reporting is also added to allow injured workers access to timely and accurate claim information.
• The Employers Incident and Injury Report and the ER2000 Calculator are introduced on WorkSafe™ online.
• On Thursday, August 30, a Board stop-work order is issued at the Teck Cominco lead smelter in Trail, when examination of boiler dust showed thallium was present at high concentrations. The investigation into the thallium exposures at Teck Cominco is one of the most extensive in the Board’s history. It involves more than 100 hours of witness interviews and the review of approximately 7,000 pages of documentation.

• Core reviews of WCB administration and services are completed by Allan Hunt and Alan Winter in March 2002. Legislative changes to the Workers Compensation Act follow soon after with the introduction of Bills 49—2002 and 63—2002.
• Bill 49 changes how benefits for injured workers are calculated, clarifies coverage for mental stress and restructures Workers’ Compensation Board governance.
• Bill 63 reduces the levels of review and appeal of WCB decisions from three to two, creates a new internal review function to improve the quality of initial decision-making and establishes a new, independent appeal tribunal as the final level of appeal for workers' compensation matters.