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System Review 2023	About the WCB	Value of Coverage
	What We Do	Funding Our Future

In 2003, following the Dorsey Report, the WCB joined Government as a voice for workplace safety in our province. Since then, our awareness campaigns and programming have supported workers and employers, leading to the continuous, ongoing reduction in the impact of workplace injury. 

• In 2003, there were 8,996 time-loss claims in Nova Scotia – more than 3 of every 100 covered workers. In 2022, there were 5,420 time-loss injuries. The current time-loss injury rate (Q1 2023) is 1.41 per 100 covered workers. 

Working in close partnership with government and with many other partners, our injury prevention services and programming include: 

• Industry-based services with coaching, education, and best practice.  
• Awareness campaigns and resources, often cost-shared with Labour, Skills, and Immigration and other Atlantic Canadian jurisdictions. 
• Programs to encourage safer behaviours through surcharges to employers with very high claims costs. 
• Safety certification programs and rebates. 
• Partnerships with safety associations for industry-specific success, such as in fishing and in health care sectors.

 

Safety in the Fishing Sector

After the Miss Ally tragedy, the WCB led a multi-stakeholder effort to improve the safety culture in the fishing industry. Today, more fishermen wear PFDs, and the safety conversation continues to grow. As a result, the rate employers pay in fishing has decreased by more than 50% since 2015. Learn more about safety in the fishing sector at Fish Safe Nova Scotia and Worksafeforlife.ca.

This video was developed in 2015 as part of the Fishing Safety Now work to develop a safer sector for lobster fishers. It demonstrates that the impact of safety within the fishing industry extends beyond captains and crew and their vessels to the family and community members who are touched by a loss. A vibrant and prosperous fishing industry in Nova Scotia becomes more possible as it becomes a safer one.

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