Manitoba may become the first Canadian province to recognize post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a compensable work disease for any profession. On June 8, the provincial government introduced a bill that, if passed, would deem PTSD to be a presumptively occupational condition applicable through the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba (WCB).
“This is groundbreaking,” Edna Braun, the province’s Minister of Labour and Immigration, told COHSN. “For the first time, presumptive legislation is tied directly to a diagnosis, and it includes every worker eligible under the Workers Compensation Board.”
The bill proposes amendments to Manitoba’s Workers Compensation Act that would presume work as the cause of PTSD. “It makes it easier, therefore, for the folks to access supports, treatments and compensation,” Braun said.
She added that these amendments would cover all workers, regardless of occupation – as opposed to in Alberta, where presumptive PTSD legislation covers first responders only. “A decision was made that we feel in the best interests of all workers in Manitoba, that we should acknowledge that and cover all workers that experience a traumatic event.” Braun cited victims of robbery and witnesses of violent events as examples of other workers who could develop PTSD.
According to WCB communications director Warren Preece, the Board already covers PTSD, as well as psychological damage that happens on the job. “So this isn’t like new coverage,” he explained.
“What will be new, once the bill passes, is that if you have PTSD and come file a claim, it will be presumed to have happened at work. But it’s what we call a rebuttable presumption,” added Preece. “So we’ll still have to verify that you really do have PTSD, that that’s what your condition is and that it did happen at work.”
Preece speculated that the legislation would increase the WCB’s number of PTSD claims. “We’re not expecting there to be tons, but we don’t know if there are people out there, for fear of stigma or not knowing that these things are covered, if there are claims that are out there that aren’t being proceeded with.”
Braun acknowledged that the WCB had approved PTSD claims in the past. “But we felt there was an important element to having it presumptive, because that does provide for a much speedier action on the disease,” she said.
The government had been considering legislation of this kind for several years, Braun explained. “First responders have spoken to us about the need to do this, to provide timely and important healthcare interventions that are needed with post-traumatic stress disorder,” she said. “Other work groups have spoken to us as well.”
This isn’t the first time Manitoba has considered legislation for presumptive occupational disease. “We’ve updated and amended our Act over the years, to address different cancers that we’ve come to recognize as being part of the risk that firefighters experience,” said Braun. “Other provinces, and certainly other countries, have looked at Manitoba’s legislation and have followed suit.”
The new bill has received support from such organizations as the Manitoba Federation of Labour (MFL), the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union, the Manitoba Nurses Union and the United Firefighters of Winnipeg, according to a government press release.
MFL president Kevin Rebeck welcomed the bill in a press statement. “PTSD is a real threat to working people,” said Rebeck. “It comes as no surprise to me that Manitoba is the first jurisdiction to put this level of protection into legislation.”
Preece said that the WCB was leaving it up to the government to decide on the final merits of the bill. “That’s for the legislature to decide,” he said. “There will be public hearings, and then out of the end will be a final bill, and we will implement it.
“Anything that helps injured workers get the benefits that they deserve under the system is, in our mind, a good thing.”