Steve Payne
OFL president Sid Ryan explains what his union organization has done with the WSIB’s $12.3 million funding
Canadian Contractor UmbrellaThe money has been used to train advocates to help push OFL member claims through the system.
Randy Hillier, Ontario PC labour critic, calls it a “slush fund,” but Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) president Sid Ryan says that his organization – an umbrella group of unions – has not been “living high off the hog” from the millions in funding it has received from the province’s WSIB.
The funding – $12.3-million over 10 years – was dispensed under a program called the Occupational Disability Response Team Grant, the Toronto Star reports here.
In the article, Ryan tells the Star that the money came from “employers” not the “taxpayer” – and it has gone to a worthy cause. Namely, to train labour activists to help injured workers push their compensation claims through the WSIB’s backlogged claims system*.
“We train new generations of workers to represent at the board and tribunals… to know their rights and obligations,” Ryan said, according to the article.
* Editor’s Note: Regarding this “backlogged claims system” (8,000 cases according to the article in the Star), the WSIB says there is no backlog. A spokesperson for the WSIB, Tonya Johnson, emailed us the following: “Unfortunately, the number used in the Toronto Star story was incorrect. As a matter of fact, we do not have a backlog when it comes to our claims system.”
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So to sum up Ryan’s response, employers in this Province are not taxpayers, now that’s really amusing, last I looked employers are responsible for a wide variety of taxes, employers match UI,CPP,WSIB, Corporate Tax, they pay for fuel, hydro and believe it or not the Owners pay a vast amount of personal taxes. So Mr. Ryan how are employers not taxpayers.
Part two to train ACTIVISTS, as if we don’t have enough of them already. Funny though the WSIB pays The OFL to fight against them is even funnier, as noted they are noted who is fighting on behalf of the 8,000 injured workers noted in the article.
After Ryan made the public attack about WSIB refunding employers I had the sad opportunity of seeing him at a local pub. Yes I may have one or two drinks in, and may have been a little overbearing when I approached him, but I wanted an answer (which I knew). I asked him if he was going to back up that article and expose the WSIB, or was this just another one of his many media plays. I guess we all know the answer to that now don’t we, though I never expected to find out the reason until this article surfaced. Why attack those who pay into your coffers.
I agree. Could there be a bigger conflict of interest. Makes me sick. I’m a small contractor with several employees that pay into WSIB and they are giving this union group my money to fight claims. What another giant liberal union backed scam
Hey Sid all Unions are as crooked as the day is long. Where are you now? Oh that’s right in trouble financially and gone from the Union. Union fighting Union to get you out, I liked watching that unfold, it was laughable for sure. How does it feel? You Unions in Ontari-OWE/Canada are killing legit small businesses.
You Unions have the worst record of injuries, and yet you get rebates (YES FROM THE ‘slush fund’) rebates that you all divvy up, while LEGIT businesses pay for all of your crap. You guys (Unions) need to go period!
Payback is a beeeachh! isn’t Sid?