When the Ontario government passed Bill 119, almost two years ago, they forced WSIB payments onto tens of thousands of independent contractors in the province who didn’t have to pay into the program previously.
Many contractors believe that this was simply a move to get revenue from a class of contractors (the self-employed) who would be very unlikely to make claims on the system. The surplus money generated would then assist WSIB in paying down their multi-billion-dollar “unfunded liability.”
For implementing not just this, but other WSIB policy changes, I. David Marshall the president and CEO of the WSIB, will likely qualify for a $400,000 “performance” bonus (on top of $400,000 annual salary) when his five-year term ends in January 2015.
No doubt the government was eager to see their top bureaucrat find some ways to better fund the WSIB. Since 2008, the unfunded debt has risen from $11.5 billion to around 15 to $18 billion
Alec Caldwell- Canadian Contractor.ca – September 3, 2014.