the Hole in Ontario's Budget: WSIB's Unfunded Liability

Ontario faces a $19.7 billion unfunded liability at its Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) based on a fair-value accounting approach. In the report, the authors say the WSIB, which levies employer premiums intended to fund benefits for employees injured in the workplace, has a problem that needs addressing: the WSIB's pace of revenue collection and asset accumulation has not matched growth in current and expected benefit entitlements. The report concludes that protecting taxpayers from bearing the costs of unfunded benefits will require fixing the WSIB's financing problems, through increased employer contributions - implying lower wage growth for employees - benefit adjustments, or both. To facilitate these changes, more stringent financing rules are required.