Message from the Chief Executive Officer

Karen Adams
Chief Executive Officer
WCB Nova Scotia

Changing to better protect the Nova Scotia workforce.

When I joined the WCB in August 2023, I immediately found an organization working hard to make a difference, but also, not living up to its potential.

This annual report shows both of those things.

It shows progress in injury prevention, some early steps in return to work, and continued financial sustainability.

It also shows, very clearly, that return to work takes too long in Nova Scotia, and too many people go on to receive benefits for a lifetime. Over generations, that has created a financial reality that’s kept benefits for workers too low, and rates for employers too high.

That’s the problem in Nova Scotia. Already in 2024, we have begun to solve it. The changes we are making are needed, and they are also validated by the findings of a long-overdue review of the system as a whole.

I turned some heads earlier this year, in my opinion piece that said workers’ compensation has been falling short of what the province deserves. Unfortunately, it needed to be said.

While the injury rate continues to decline, our work will never be done. We must protect people from the impact of injury, and tragedy — in 2023, 18 families lost someone they love, due to a workplace fatality.

And, while we have improved our financial position, we need to better support return to work, and we need to improve our service. You didn’t mince words in telling me that, as I traveled this beautiful province tip to tip in my first year.

We are listening. We’ve already made some important changes — like saying “yes” sooner to claims we’re going to say yes to anyway, rather than waiting for all the paperwork to start the return-to-work process. This has already reduced the days lost from work.

And it’s just the start. We’ve also set very clear service level agreements which you’ll see in this report — to more quickly return calls, issue decisions, and make first payments.

Perhaps most significantly, we’ve set up a whole new way of delivering service this September to Nova Scotia workers and employers with new, gradual onset psychological injury claims — and we’ve developed new tools to support workplaces in their prevention. This is the first exciting step in change overall for the WCB — it’s an example of how we’ll continue to improve our service to all Nova Scotians in the future.

Exceptional service is one pillar in our Protect More strategic plan — together with prevention and return to work. Those three fundamentals are how we will protect the Nova Scotia workforce from the impact of injury, both psychological and physical.

Accomplishing the Protect More return-to-work goal alone will have the same impact as returning 1,000 workers to the workforce for an entire year. Think of the homes 1,000 construction workers could build, the people 1,000 nurses could care for, the meals 1,000 food service workers could make.

That’s what we protect.

The Nova Scotia of tomorrow needs its workforce more than ever, protected by a vibrant, thriving WCB, providing exceptional service. And that is what we will deliver.

Karen Adams, MBA, ICD.D