Vince McKay: Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission Assessment Rates 2025

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Mr. Speaker, the Workers’ Protection Fund provides no-fault insurance coverage for employers and benefits and care for workers in the event of a workplace injury.

All employers share the cost of this compensation system by making payments based on their assessable payroll, which is the amount of earnings they report for each worker, and the group rate for their industry.

Each year’s assessment rates must generate enough revenue to cover all current and future costs associated with workplace injuries occurring in the assessment year, including health care, rehabilitation, and wage replacement benefits.

Effective January 1, 2025, the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission will introduce two distinct Year’s Maximum Insurable Remuneration,  or YMIR values, for the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. YMIR is the maximum amount of salary or wages for which a worker is fully covered by the WSCC in the event of a workplace injury and sets a dollar limit on the amount of payroll that employers report per worker.

The decision to have separate YMIRs is based on changes to the average weekly earnings of each territory and the WSCC’s goal to ensure that a minimum of 70% of the NWT and Nunavut workforces have their earnings totally covered in the event of an injury.

Employers will receive notification next month of their individual industry group rate for 2025, along with the YMIR value for each territory for the upcoming year.

I am pleased to announce that through strong stewardship of the fund, the WSCC can maintain the average employer assessment rate for 2025 at $2.40 per $100 of assessable payroll, an amount that has not changed since 2020.

The WSCC will continue to monitor workplace safety trends to better determine where support and resources are needed to help workers in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.