By JONATHAN JENKINS
Toronto Sun
November 6, 2008

Legislation forcing independent construction contractors into the embrace of the province's Workers' Compensation system is the first of many unwanted hugs planned by the Ontario government, small business advocates warned yesterday.

"We think their designs are not just going to stop at construction," said Judith Andrew, vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). "The rest of Ontario needs to pay attention to this because they want to expand it to everybody."

PAY PREMIUMS IN 2012
Andrew said the CFIB membership is outraged at Bill 119 -- introduced by Labour Minister Peter Fonseca in October -- and now the subject of debate-limiting measures by the Liberal government.

If passed, the bill would force independent operators, sole proprietors, partners in a partnership, and executive officers of corporations in the construction industry to pay Workplace Safety and Insurance Board premiums, starting in 2012.

Andrew said many such people already carry private insurance that offers them broader coverage at lower prices than fees charged by the WSIB, and that the added cost could force some of them out of business.

"This is another of those ever expanding government empires, poorly run, that has to keep expanding who they cover so they can continue to finance the organization," Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory said of the WSIB.

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
"The question becomes who's next? Who's next that isn't today in their web but will have to start paying premiums because of some other brain wave someone comes up with to kill jobs in Ontario."

Fonseca has said the thrust of the legislation is to level the playing field in the industry, bringing the estimated 90,000 independent operators under the same rules that govern larger firms.

The government also argues the bill will help battle fraud, the underground economy and make workplaces safer.