WINNIPEG, Manitoba—Manitoba is expanding the number of industries covered by its workers compensation system for the first time since the 1960s, bringing its program more in line with those of other Canadian provinces.

Some Manitoba employers, though, are concerned about the expansion, questioning whether it is necessary to mandate coverage for some of the new industries and the potential for increased workers comp costs.

The province is adding nine industries to the insurance system run by the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba effective Jan. 1, 2007 (see box, page 18). The coverage expansion represents about 1,150 employers, although 67% of those employers already have voluntary coverage with the provincial system and will not see any changes.

Canadian workers comp coverage is provided largely by provincial and territorial workers comp boards and financed by employer-paid premiums. Employers have no control over the rates set by the boards; rates for each company in a given sector reflect the loss experience of that sector, though those companies that have low incident levels within a sector are eligible for individual rebates.

In Manitoba, about 70% of employees are covered by the system, the lowest level of coverage in the country, according to Nancy Allan, the province's labor and immigration minister. The expansion of coverage will allow more than 7,000 additional workers to receive benefits, she said. "We are committed to gradually extending WCB coverage starting with the industries where it makes the most sense," Ms. Allan said in a statement.

The new industries are currently covered by most other workers comp boards across Canada. For example, mines exploration, which falls under the category exploration and prospecting, is an industry whose coverage is compulsory under all other provincial/territorial workers comp systems.

Initially, the provincial government published a longer list of industries for which compulsory coverage was being considered, but the list was trimmed down in the midst of opposition by groups representing employers.

The Manitoba chapter of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which represents more than 4,800 small and midsize employers in the province, successfully fought the inclusion of several industries, including the health care sector. The organization's health care members opposed compulsory coverage because they already have private insurance coverage that they felt was superior to the provincial program, said Shannon Martin, director of provincial affairs for the CFIB in Winnipeg, Manitoba. "They actually thought that was a detriment to their employees," he said.

Mr. Martin believes, though, that the employers' victory may be short-lived because of the minister's stated intention to continue expanding the number of industries covered by the system. "There's no doubt in our minds whatsoever that there will be further expansion," he said. "The big question our members are facing is, 'What's next?' "

Employers in some of the new industries that will now be compelled to obtain coverage questioned the need for such coverage, Mr. Martin noted. "I would suggest taxidermy is hardly a dangerous occupation as well as property management and design of landscaping," he said.

Another key issue for employers relates to the cost of coverage, including the possibility that adding more employers and workers could disrupt what is one of Canada's most stable workers comp programs and eventually lead to higher rates.

The Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba has not yet finalized its assessment rates for 2007, but rates have been assessed for employers in the new industries that have sought voluntary coverage in the past. For example, Manitoba employers in the industry category taxidermy that elected to obtain WCB coverage were assessed an average rate of $1.83 Canadian ($1.63) per $100 Canadian ($89) of insurable earnings for coverage this year. Manitoba employers paid the second-lowest average premium in Canada this year at $1.68 Canadian ($1.50) per $100 Canadian of insurable earnings.