REGINA, SK: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling on the Workers Compensation Board (WCB) to follow its own policy and refund hundreds of millions of dollars to employers across the province.

“The bottom line is simple – WCB has been collecting more money than it needs to compensate injured workers and that money should go back into the economy,” said Todd MacKay, Prairie Director for the CTF. “Employers across the province should be able to use this money to create jobs rather than leaving it with the WCB.”

The WCB essentially provides insurance to employers that are required to pay premiums so that workers can apply for compensation if they’re injured on the job. WCB is required to have enough assets to cover all liabilities and includes allowances for an additional 20 per cent as a cushion. WCB policy states rebates will be sent to employers if assets exceed the 120 per cent of projected liabilities.

WCB issued rebates to employers totaling $141 million because the fund grew to 132.2 per cent of projected liabilities last year.

Assets now stand at 144.7 per cent of projected liabilities, according to this year’s WCB annual report, and that means employers are due to receive a refund of $281 million.

In addition to the $281 million, the WCB does not count investments gains when calculating its assets. Independent experts have recommended that these factors should be included. If the WCB follows that recommendation, the required refund would grow by $185 million for a total of $467 million. That would mean an average refund of about $9,700 for Saskatchewan’s 47,956 employers.

“We all want workers to have the help they need if they’re injured and the WCB has more than enough resources to do that job,” said MacKay. “But there is no reason for the WCB to sit on hundreds of millions in excess money, especially when times are tough and employers are pinching every penny.”