Worker’s Compensation excessively burdensome on small business

Roland Butler, MHA for the District of  Port De Grave and Opposition Critic for Human Resources, Labour and Employment, says while red tape reduction in this province is making some headway, the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission continues to burden small business owners with its excessive regulatory requirements.

Butler was responding to the report released this week by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) Prosperity Restricted by Red Tape.  The national report compared the progress that governments across Canada are making to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens on small businesses.

“Our province appears to be moving towards being more business friendly, but there are still outstanding issues that need immediate attention,” says Butler.  “Worker’s Compensation is one sector of government that is still strangling small business owners with their extreme requirements.

“Over 78 per cent of businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador state that complying with Worker’s Compensation demands is a huge concern.  In fact, we are way above the national average of 64.7 per cent of small businesses which view this category of regulation as a hindrance to their growth and prosperity and their ability to compete with larger businesses.

“For example, I have heard of a business owner in central Newfoundland who was advised by Worker’s Compensation to set aside 2-3 days of his time to help the Commission conduct an audit on his business. That is simply an unwarranted distraction to good business.”

Butler says that the regulatory burdens placed on small businesses by Worker’s Compensation are dragging the province down and he is calling upon government to focus on this issue in the coming months. “In particular, it is time to implement some business friendly policies such as making payment plans based on actual payroll, not on forecasted ones, as other Atlantic provinces are doing. 

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