Two things happened at Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board this summer that, on the surface, have nothing to do with each other. In July, the WSIB shut down the Second Injury and Enhancement Fund, a cost relief program that had been around since 1945. A month later, it announced it was consolidating its claim and account management work, and the union representing its staff says 466 positions are affected as nine offices close.

Put them side by side and you see a board taking a hard look at what it pays for and how it delivers service. That matters in Alberta too. WCB Alberta runs under its own legislation, so nothing Ontario does crosses the border automatically. But boards across Canada often borrow ideas from one another, and WCB Alberta’s own policy plan shows it looking at several of the same pressure points. If you have a stake in this system, whether you’re injured or you’re paying premiums, it’s worth watching WCB Alberta changes before they arrive rather than after.

Ontario closes the Second Injury and Enhancement Fund

SIEF gave Ontario employers between 25 and 100 per cent cost relief on a claim when a worker’s pre-existing condition contributed to the injury or dragged out the recovery. The idea was to remove any financial reason for an employer to avoid hiring someone with a disability. It never touched what injured workers received. The WSIB has been clear that SIEF only ever affected how an employer’s premiums were calculated.

Earlier this year, the WSIB had Deloitte run a value-for-money audit of the fund. The audit concluded that SIEF was no longer doing either of its jobs. It wasn’t removing barriers for workers with pre-existing disabilities, and it wasn’t giving employers meaningful or fair cost relief. The WSIB’s vice-president of communications went further and called the credits it produced “mirage money,” because any savings for one employer were effectively paid for by the others in the same rate class.

The WSIB closed the fund retroactive to June 16, 2026, and published the policy change on July 16. Requests submitted before July 16 are still being reviewed, and relief already granted stays in place for the life of the claim. No replacement program has been announced, and Ontario’s construction associations have launched a lobbying campaign in response.

Ontario centralizes its claim staff

In August, the WSIB told staff it was consolidating its claim and account management functions. According to the Ontario Compensation Employees Union, 466 positions are affected, including 238 in northern Ontario, and nine offices are closing. Staff in Thunder Bay say they were given 15 business days to decide whether to relocate to southern Ontario or leave. The WSIB, for its part, says nothing changes about how people in those communities access its services.

The union sees it differently. Its president has said the board is already under-resourced, and injured worker advocates in the north have warned that workers will struggle to build working relationships with staff who live hundreds of kilometres away and don’t know the local economy. I think they have a point. The people who decide claims matter a great deal, and moving those decisions further from the communities they affect rarely makes them better.

The common thread

Neither change rewrites what an injured worker is entitled to under Ontario’s legislation. Both change what happens in practice. One shifts more of the cost of complicated claims back onto individual employers. The other puts the people making decisions further away from the workers they’re deciding about. Both were justified on value and efficiency, and both landed with very little warning.

That’s the part worth watching in Alberta. Boards rarely announce that they’re cutting back. They review a program, conclude it isn’t delivering value and change the policy. By the time most people notice, the change is already in effect.

WCB Alberta changes already on the table

WCB Alberta publishes a rolling policy project plan, and the September 2026 update deserves a close read. A few items stand out.

• WCB consulted the public on its funding policy this spring, framed around balancing what Albertans need against the long-term sustainability of the system. Consultation closed June 1, and the feedback is under review.
  
  
• Economic loss payments. WCB says it wants to modernize how it establishes and compensates permanent impairment of earnings “to reflect today’s workforce and economic realities.” That’s at the drafting stage, with consultation expected within six months. For workers with permanent restrictions, this could be the most important policy change in years.
  
  
• Psychological injury. The policy governing psychological injury claims is under active review.
  
  
• Interim relief. A review is on the horizon to make sure the policy is meeting its legislated goals.
  
  
• Cost relief. Two items are flagged for further investigation: cost relief on back claims, and how cost relief applies when psychological factors that aren’t part of the claim drive up its costs.
  
  

On the money side, WCB raised the average premium rate for 2026 from $1.41 to $1.46 per $100 of insurable earnings. According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, that’s still five cents below the rate WCB actually needed, and WCB has used close to $2 billion in premium subsidies since 2018.

The appeal system is feeling the strain as well. At its annual update this year, the Appeals Commission reported 645 hearings in 2025–2026, with appeal volumes up about 65% since 2020. The Advisor Office, which helps workers and employers with appeals at no charge, currently has a waitlist.

None of this means Alberta is about to copy Ontario. It does mean WCB Alberta is asking some of the same questions.

Alberta’s cost relief rests on the same logic

This is the part I’d keep the closest eye on. WCB Alberta describes cost relief as moving an individual employer’s claim costs to the industry rate group level. That’s essentially the arrangement the WSIB’s audit took aim at, where relief for one employer is paid for by the rest of the industry. Alberta already lets industries in its Industry Custom Pricing program vote to waive cost relief for aggravations of pre-existing conditions, so the idea of giving it up isn’t foreign here.

I’m not predicting that Alberta will scrap cost relief. But if WCB Alberta ever runs the kind of analysis Ontario ran, the same fairness argument is sitting right there, and two cost relief items are already flagged for a closer look.

What this means for you

If you’re an employer

Don’t treat cost relief as permanent. If a claim qualifies today, make sure the relief is actually applied, because most of it depends on a WCB decision-maker reviewing the claim rather than happening automatically. Keep good records of pre-existing conditions from the start of a claim. And when WCB opens a consultation on cost relief or funding, take part. Ontario’s construction associations are lobbying after the fact, and it’s much easier to shape a policy before it’s written.

If you’re an injured worker

Ontario’s changes didn’t reduce anyone’s benefits on paper, and nothing in Alberta’s plan does either, at least so far. But policy reviews can change how entitlement gets assessed, and the economic loss payment review could affect anyone living with permanent restrictions. When those consultations open, they’re public, and feedback from workers is part of the record WCB reviews. If your claim is already in dispute, don’t wait for the system to settle. Get advice early, while decisions are still easier to change.

Watch the policy plan

Ontario isn’t a crystal ball for Alberta. The two systems run under different laws and answer to different governments. But when a large board decides that an 80-year-old program no longer delivers value, other boards notice. The smartest thing anyone with a stake in Alberta’s system can do is follow WCB’s policy plan and speak up during consultations, while there’s still time to influence the outcome.

If you want to understand how these changes could affect your claim or your WCB account, Blue Collar Consulting can help. Your first consultation is free. Call 780-340-5727.