Q1 Operational Highlights
New Coverage, New Services
Gradual onset psychological injury: Compensable September 1, 2024
A new service model and the first step toward broader changes in the way WCB delivers service is set to begin September 1, as changes to the WCB’s governing legislation become effective, making gradual onset psychological injury compensable in Nova Scotia.
Made last fall, the changes bring Nova Scotia in line with most of the rest of Canada, as the first Atlantic Canadian jurisdiction to recognize gradual onset psychological injury. Psychological injury due to a traumatic event, or events, has always been compensable in Nova Scotia.
“Over the past year or more, we’ve been getting ready for this change”, says Chief Engagement Officer Shelly Dauphinee. “We’re ready, and we believe workplaces are ready, too.”
Nova Scotia’s workers and employers can expect things to look different in service to this type of injury.
Changes include:
Return to work services starting immediately, even before a claim is accepted, leveraging community supports.
Clear service level agreements, like same-day call return, same-day needs assessment, and issuing decisions in three weeks, all 80 per cent of the time.
A co-pilot to the whole process called a Client Care Navigator, who will help workers and employers understand what’s next in a worker’s journey to full duties and a safer workplace.
Watch the video for more, and for the latest visit:
////// wcb.ns.ca/gpi
For tools and resources to make your workplace
psychologically safe, visit:
Outreach and Engagement: WCB in the Community
Atlantic Workplace Health and Safety Conference
The annual Atlantic Workplace Health and Safety Conference, this region’s largest gathering of its kind, took place in Halifax March 20-22. As an event sponsor alongside our partners at the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration, the WCB led two conference sessions – the first on supporting psychologically safe workplaces and the second on proactive approaches to support better return-to-work success.
Lynette Fenton, WCB’s Director of Psychological Injury (right), and Michelle Thomason, Director of Innovation & Planning, Safety Branch, LSI, delivered a joint presentation on psychologically safe workplaces.
Tema Foundation Education Day
WCB Nova Scotia, in partnership with the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration, was proud to sponsor the Tema Foundation’s Education Day on May 6. The sold-out event offered speakers and presentations focused on developing resilience and maintaining overall wellbeing during recovery from psychological injury. Tyler Smith, a 21-year-old survivor of the 2018 Humbolt Broncos bus crash which claimed the lives of 16 of his teammates, staff members, and coaches, was keynote speaker. Shelly Dauphinee, WCB’s Chief Engagement Officer, also spoke at the event.
WCB Workplace Consultant Kelly McIntyre-Hayes welcomed attendees to the WCB booth at the Tema Foundation Education Day May 6 in Halifax.
Safety First Cape Breton Symposium
On May 8, the Cape Breton Partnership hosted the 11th Annual Safety First Cape Breton Symposium at the Membertou Trade & Convention Centre, supported by WCB Nova Scotia and the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration (LSI) – among a wide range of corporate sponsors. This year the symposium focused on creating safe workplaces through a diversity lens, and fostering psychological safety.
Jeff Ward, General Manager of the Heritage Park in Membertou, brings greetings as part of the opening at the 2024 Safety First Cape Breton Symposium.