Ten WSIB offices in Ontario shutting down including St. Catharines location

It was revealed Wednesday that the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) is shutting down a number of offices in Ontario, including the one in St. Catharines.

The closures follow after the provincial government announced they were undertaking a review of the insurance company.

The closure in St. Catharines means the loss of 43 jobs and potentially up to 466 jobs across Ontario.

Other offices being affected include those in Kingston, North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Timmins, Windsor, Guelph and Waterloo.

A spokesperson from the WSIB could not confirm the numbers, but did say they have “not had storefront offices across Ontario since the pandemic hit in 2020, with support being delivered online, by telephone, and through expanded in-person local health care access with new partnerships to provide physical and mental health care without having to travel.”

They added that it was a difficult business decision to consolidate operations.

“These cuts will mean the loss of good local jobs and, importantly, the loss of experienced, high-seniority workers who carry years of institutional knowledge about Ontario’s workers’ compensation system,” said NDP MPP for St. Catharines Jennie Stevens in a statement. “It is difficult to reconcile these cuts with Premier Doug Ford’s recent message to St. Catharines residents touting the creation of 119,000 jobs in Ontario and his intent to bring more jobs to Niagara, over the past four months.”

“The government and the WSIB need to explain why these cuts are happening, why St. Catharines is losing its office, and how removing hundreds of experienced workers will improve service for the people who depend on it.”

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