From the National Post:
‘Workers compensation boards across Canada have received thousands of claims from employees who say they contracted COVID-19 on the job, underscoring how the pandemic has become a new workplace hazard for many Canadians.
The flood of unconventional requests is prompting calls to expand the legal definition of occupational disease, which typically includes work-related cancers, asbestosis and the like.
By late May, claims totalled 5,786 in Quebec, 4,156 in Ontario, 1,366 in Alberta and 541 in B.C. The usual volume of claims at Ontario’s Workers Safety and Insurance Board has decreased significantly because of the economic shutdown. (Meanwhile) COVID-19 requests have accounted for as much as 30 per cent of the volume in recent weeks.’
