ALBERTA

Jun 30: According to the Alberta WCB’s Annual Report for 2022, year-over-year lost-time claims rose from 1.9 to 2.0 per 100 workers and disabling injuries climbed from 2.9 to 3.1. New claims jumped from 122,170 to 135,524. Good news: Fatality claims accepted dropped from 178 to 161, while average claim duration was 62.6 days, the same as 2021.

MANITOBA

May 9: Manitoba’s 2022 time loss injury rate rose from 2.7 to 2.9 per 100 workers. Other key year-over-year WCB 2022 Annual Report findings: Total injury claims increased from 24,003 to 25,632 while time loss claims grew from 12,974 to 14,391. The estimated 3,321 severe injuries were just 8 above 2021 levels. Fatalities fell from 20 to 16 and average days lost to workplace injury dipped from 1.64 to 1.59.

NEW BRUNSWICK

Jul 18: According to WorkSafeNB’s 2022 Annual Report, the lost-time injury claim rate remained at 1.2 per 100 workers, while lost time claims decreased from 4,273 to 4,229. There were 10 fatalities, a 3-year low. After dropping slightly last year, psychological injury claims spiked from 135 to 179. There were 10 OHS prosecutions resulting in $225,650 in fines.

NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR

Jun 21: The 2022 lost-time injury rate remained at 1.5 per 100 workers, according to WorkplaceNL’s 2022 Annual Performance Report. New claim numbers jumped from 4,407 to 4,760 driven by an increase in COVID-19 claims. Alarmingly, accepted fatalities were up over 50% from 30 to 18.  In 2022, the number of new claims increased to 4,760 (2021: 4,407), primarily due to an increase in COVID-19 claims. The Injury Fund, while still financially strong, declined from 132.3% to 116.2% funded.

NOVA SCOTIA

Dec 12: The WCB accepted 1,264 time-loss injury claims in the second quarter of 2022, as compared to 1,233 claims over the same period in 2021. Year-to-date total claims for the first half of 2022 were up significantly (2,912 vs. 2,614) driven by increasing COVID claims. However, injury rates are actually down in long-term care and home care.

Feb 22: The third quarter time-loss injury rate was 1.54 per 100 workers, slightly below the rate of 1.58 for 2021. Time-loss for home care dropped from 7.43 to 6.86. Average number of days paid for time loss across all industries fell from 317 to 296 per 100. The WCB’s funded percentage for the quarter was 90.6%.

Mar 16: In 2022, 24 Nova Scotia workers died of a work injury or illness, compared to 20 in 2021 and 32 in 2020, the WCB reported. Nine of the fatalities were due to acute traumatic injuries (vs. 5 in 2021 and 18 in 2020) and 15 were chronic due to illness or health issues (15/14).

May 1: According to the WCB, 52,000 fewer days were lost to short-term disability from workplace injury in 2022—equivalent to 200 people working full time for a whole year. While total time loss injuries were slightly up, the injury rate dropped from 1.58 to 1.54 per 100 workers. There were 361 time-loss claims due to COVID-19.

Jun 21: The 2022 lost-time injury rate remained at 1.5 per 100 workers, according to WorkplaceNL’s 2022 Annual Performance Report. New claim numbers jumped from 4,407 to 4,760 driven by an increase in COVID-19 claims. Alarmingly, accepted fatalities were up over 50% from 30 to 18.  In 2022, the number of new claims increased to 4,760 (2021: 4,407), primarily due to an increase in COVID-19 claims. The Injury Fund, while still financially strong, declined from 132.3% to 116.2% funded.

Aug 23: Nova Scotia’s injury rate fell to a historic low of 1.41 per 100 workers in the first quarter of 2023, as compared to 1.54 in the fourth quarter of 2022. Injury rates remained high in the healthcare sector, despite modest improvements in long-term care and home care. Days lost to injury dropped from 292 to 277 per 100, with 81% returning to work within 180 days. Year-over-year COVID-19 claims fell significantly from 233 to 17 during the first quarter.

SASKATCHEWAN

Apr 13: The Saskatchewan WCB reported that the 2022 time loss injury rate increased from 2.03 to 2.04 per 100 workers (184 more claims) while the total injury rate dropped 5% to 4.33. Total accepted claims fell 3.23% to 17,371, even though total workers covered jumped from 392,813 to 400,392. Sadly, fatalities increased from 31 to 39.

May 30: Saskatchewan’s 2022 time loss injury rate was 2.04 per 100 workers, as opposed to 2.03 in 2021 but total injury rates declined 5% from 4.56 to 4.33. Although 90% of employers reported zero injuries or fatalities for the third year in a row, there were 39 total fatalities, 8 more than in 2021. Even though the WCB covered over 7,500 more workers, accepted claims actually fell by 578 to 17,321.

YUKON TERRITORY

May 30: Highlights from the Yukon WCSB’s newly published 2022 Annual Report. The lost-time injury rate increased from 1.5 to 1.7 per 100 workers while total lost-time claims jumped from 383 to 447. At 780, there were actually 21 fewer accepted claims. There was just one worker fatality in 2022, versus 4 in 2021.