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WorkSafeBC Milestones
1917 The Workmen's Compensation Act is passed, providing
a compensation rate of 55 percent of average earnings (up to $2,000 per
year), $20 a month plus $5 per child to deceased workers' widows, government
safety inspections, and a full medical aid provision.
1917 The Workmen's Compensation Board of B.C. is created. The first
office, with a staff of 44 headed by chair Edward Winn, is located in
Victoria. Six thousand employers register; 75,000 workers are covered.
Thomas Pickering of South Burnaby files the first WCB claim.
1918 Head office moves to 402 Pender Street, Vancouver.
1919 All businesses with more than 10 workers are required to maintain a first aid kit on site.
1920 Widows' pensions are increased to $35 a month and $7.50 per child.
1923 Funeral allowance is increased to $100.
1928 More than 282,340 accidents and 2,670 deaths are reported in the 12 years since the Workmen's Compensation Act took effect.
1932 Seventeen logging companies under financial pressure come close to shutting down the entire workers' compensation system with a Supreme Court injunction to temporarily stop the WCB from levying assessments.
1941 The first Royal Commission, headed by Gordon Sloan, chief justice of the Court of Appeal of B.C., is created to review the Workmen's Compensation Act.
1946 The B.C. government eliminates the workers' contribution to the Medical Aid Fund.
1951 WCB headquarters move to West 37th Avenue in Vancouver.
1952 Following recommendations from the second Sloan Royal Commission, a coalition government raises widows' pensions and children's allowances, and raises the compensation rate to 70 percent of average earnings.
1954 The new Social Credit government, under W.A.C. Bennett, raises compensation to 75 percent and allows chiropractors and non-conventional medical practitioners to be classified as doctors.
1955 For the first time fishermen are offered optional coverage.
1956 Compensation claims reach 95,562 – the highest in the WCB's history.
1959 Beatrice Zucco, the widow of a miner denied a silicosis pension in 1956 after X-rays failed to show the disease, is awarded $13,000 when an autopsy reveals that her late husband did suffer from the disease (it had been over-shadowed by tuberculosis).
1961 For the first time in 20 years, the number of compensation claims drops to 21,437.
1962 Alexander DesBrisay, chief justice of the B.C. Appeal Court, leads the third B.C. Royal Commission after the Labour Minister states that "virtually every trade union in the province has asked for the probe".
1965 Benefits and allowances are now tied to the cost of living, not set amounts – a groundbreaking change.
1968 A completely re-written Act is passed in the legislature. Significant changes include simplifying accident claims, covering volunteer workers, and shifting the onus onto the WCB to disprove a claim rather than the reverse.
1969 One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind – and the WCB. New offices open in Nanaimo, Prince Rupert, Terrace, and Kamloops, with expansions in Victoria, Prince George, Vernon, and Nelson.
1972 Cyril White, Q.C., chair of the Board since 1968, resigns. A new area office opens in Fort St. John. The waiting period for a time-loss claim drops from three days to the day of the injury.
1973 The WCB's 11th area office opens in Courtenay. The new NDP government appoints an entirely new Board, chaired by Terry Ison.
1974 The name Workmen's Compensation Board is changed to Workers' Compensation Board to reflect the number of women in the workforce.
1980 Construction begins on the Board's new administration building
in Richmond, which is completed in 1982.
1987 Around-the-world ambassador Rick Hansen kicks off a new public
awareness campaign with the WCB.
1988 An emphasis on worker safety is launched with a public awareness campaign on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in the Workplace and the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS).
1991 New legislation introduced June 3, 1991. Kenneth M. Dye, former auditor-general of the federal government, is hired as WCB president and CEO and Jim Dorsey, lawyer and arbitrator, is appointed first chair of the Board of Governors.
1993 After 75 years of controversy, domestic servants and farm workers finally come under the WCB umbrella.
1996 The fourth Royal Commission on workers' compensation issues is appointed, chaired by Judge Gurmail Singh Gill.
1998 Ralph McGinn is hired as WCB president and CEO.
1998 Total number of employers registered: 161,770. Total number of workers covered: 1.7 million. Total number of offices in B.C.: 17.
1999 Each week in B.C., three workers lose their lives and another 70 sustain permanent injuries. Yet it's a 30 percent improvement over the beginning of the decade.
2000 A new insurance program is introduced to the employers of British Columbia. The program consists of all-new classification, rate making, and experience rating plans.
2000 A new online service for employers wishing to apply for workers' compensation coverage is introduced. This online registration breaks new ground in service delivery to B.C. employers.
2001 The WCB launches the online Health and Safety Centre, a self-serve resource for workplace health and safety information.
2001 Safety Rules, a campaign focused on young worker safety, is launched. The campaign addresses the dangers young workers face: every 11 minutes of every working day, one young worker will be injured on the job.
2002 The provincial government passes legislation to amend the Workers Compensation Act. The legislation primarily deals with some benefit amounts for injured workers and establishes a new model for governance of the Workers' Compensation Board.
2002 The provincial government proclaims Bill 63, Amendments to the Workers Compensation Act (No. 2), 2002 that establishes a new Review Division and a new external appeal tribunal called the Workers' Compensation Appeal Tribunal, or WCAT.
2003 The Board of Directors replaces the Panel of Administrators
as the WCB's governing body. The Board of Directors is composed of a chair,
one worker representative, one employer representative, a professional
who provides health care or rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities,
an actuary, and two directors who represent the public interest.
2003 Bill 37, the Skills Development and Labour Statutes Amendment Act, 2003 passes third reading in the provincial legislature on October 8, 2003 and takes effect on December 31, 2003. Bill 37 amends how a survivor's benefits are calculated, who can diagnose a worker's mental stress condition, and who can represent a worker in a worker's compensation matter.
2003 Ralph McGinn retires and David Anderson is appointed as the WCB's president and CEO, effective December 15.
2004 Bill 20, the Railway Safety Act results in the transfer of occupational health and safety jurisdiction for railways from the provincial government to the WCB.
2004 Bill 18, The Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2004
provides the authority to delegate the Chief Review Officer's powers and
duties and extends appeal rights for the fishing industry.
2004 This year marked the 20th anniversary of the Day of Mourning in Canada. On April 28, the WCB, along with the B.C. Federation of Labour and the Business Council of British Columbia, hosted a public ceremony to remember those workers who have lost their lives as a result of work-related accidents or occupational diseases.
2005 The Workers' Compensation Board becomes WorkSafeBC — a name that more accurately reflects our focus on prevention, customer service, and return to work. While Workers’ Compensation Board of B.C. remains our legal name, WorkSafeBC is now the name we use on a daily basis.
2006 WorkSafeBC launches a graphic and shocking new safety campaign, Demand Safety. The campaign, aimed at young workers, consists of radio ads; posters in bars, restaurants, and construction sites; and a new web site, DemandSafety.ca.
2007 WorkSafeBC launches Teleclaim province wide — a new Contact Centre that workers can call for personal assistance if they have been injured at work.