Saint John, NB: Douglas Stanley, president and chief executive officer of WorkSafeNB, responded to allegations by a Saint John MLA that he was not doing his job. Stanley said that entitlement to workers compensation benefits are determined by the law and policy set by the stakeholders represented on WorkSafeNB’s board of directors.
“It is the job of our professional staff to apply the rules that determine entitlement to benefits, and I will not overrule those decisions in favour of injured workers or employers based on political interference in the system,” Stanley said, adding that the recent government-sponsored Independent Review Panel stressed the importance of workers’ compensation being administered by an agency independent of government. In addition, he said that the New Brunswick Court of Appeal recently gave direction on the propriety of an MLA's involvement in the process and he expects that all MLAs would adhere to those guidelines.