Injured workers could get more

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A unique initiative in Thurnder Bay this summer has been in operation elsewhere since 1985, however, not everyone knows about it.

It's the Office of the Worker Adviser, an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Labour.

Its purpose is to represent non-unionized injured workers at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal.

All services are free. They include assisting injured workers by providing advice and written information on general workplace insurance issues; helping with appeals; providing referrals to community resources; and educating the public about workers' compensation for non-unionized injured workers and their representatives.

It's a service that is available to everyone, but as an official responsible for the Northwest region of Ontario said to Birchbark, education about the service is needed.

Jorma Halonen, manager of the ministry's northwest region, says a main target of information-sharing is the numerous First Nations.

"First Nations are not aware that we exist", he said.

He attributes that to location.

"The more remote the community, the less they are aware of the service."

He added that many communication tools, such as Internet, are not easibly accessible within northern First Nations.

To help overcome this problem, the Thunder Bay Office of the Worker Adviser developed a program that ran for eight months called the Office of the Worker Adviser Outreach Initiative.

A volunteer, Katherine Kakegamic from Thunder Bay, came in to open the doors of communication and information about the program.

"We recruited Katherine because she comes from a First Nations background, so she had that rapport with the First Nation communities," said Halonen.

Kakegamic said she contacted almost every community within Nishinawbe-Aski Nation, Treaty #3, and the Robinson Huron Treaty territories. For the most part, she said, there was an openness by leaders to learn more about the service.

She also noted the same obstacles as did Halonen.

"In some of the isolated communities, some didn't even have e-mail or faxes working, but still, I tried other ways to contact them."

One of those efforts, conducted jointly by Kakegamic and Halonen, was to offer Power Point presentations to interested organizations, which did prove successful.

Both Kakegamic and Halonen said it is important to keep the information initiative moving forward.

According to Halonen, there are far too many First Nations people entitled to workers compensation who, because of not being well informed, are forced to go on social assistance.

He said properly filing or appealing claims could mean the difference between a set amount of available money through social assistance or having a successful claim which could mean entitlement to 85 per cent of former gross income.

And, in the words of Kakegamic, "Look into it, it's a worthwhile program and service."

For more information about the Office of the Worker Adviser you can go online at www.gov.on.ca/lab/owa or phone 1-800-435-8980.