Bancroft Institute
Workshops and Policy and Research Discussion Series

The Bancroft Institute for Studies on Workers’ Compensation and Work Injury, in collaboration with the CRWDP National Office, continues to engage injured workers, advocates and academics through its workshops and Policy and Research Discussion series.

Source: Bancroft Institute webpage on the Injured Workers Online website

November 10, 2020: Impact of COVID-19 on Injured and Vulnerable Workers

The Bancroft Institute for Studies on Workers' Compensation and Work Injury will be holding their next event online, on November 10th at 1:00 - 3:30 pm, called Impact of COVID-19 on Injured and Vulnerable Workers

Focusing on the latest academic research, advocacy, and injured worker experience, this event seeks to speak to the unique experiences of vulnerable workers during COVID-19.

There is no charge for the event but registration is required.

Register at BancroftCOVID.eventbrite.ca. 

Presenters Include:

  • Rebecca Gewurtz - McMaster University
  • Carrie Marshall - Western University
  • Katherine Lipel - University of Ottawa
  • Carolina Jimenez - Decent Work & Health
  • Chetan Muram - Workers Health and Safety Legal Clinic
  • Dora Chan - IAVGO Legal Clinic
  • David Newberry - Injured Workers Community Legal Clinic
  • and Injured Worker Stories

Questions? Contact BancroftInstitute@gmail.com 

Mar.12, 2020: Injured workers, human rights and the United Nations

In September of last year, the Ontario Network of Injured Workers' Groups presented a submission to the United Nations that the practice of "deeming," also called Phantom Jobs, in Canadian workers’ compensation systems is a violation of human rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This session on March 12, 2020, explored the strategy and background of raising workers compensation issues as disability issues under international human rights law and will feature legal experts, academics, injured workers, disability rights activists, and more.

Presenters Included: Jeffrey Hilgert (Université de Montréal); Kerri Joffe (ARCH Disability Law Centre); Steve Estey (Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD)); Laura Cattari (Social Policy Advocate); Steve Mantis (Ontario Network of Injured Workers' Groups)

The session has been edited into four parts:

Part 1: Intro and Steve Etsey (Council of Canadian's with Disabilities)

Part 2: Kerri Joffe (ARCH Disability Law Centre)

Part 3: ​

Part 4: Roundtable discussion - featuring Steve Mantis (Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups), Laura Cattari (Social Policy Advocate), and audience Q&A.

Sick and Tired: Health and Safety Inequalities (October 1, 2019)

Sick and Tired (Fernwood Publishing, 2018) brings together a multidisciplinary group of experts from the fields of labour studies, public health, ergonomics, epidemiology, sociology and law. The book examines the inequalities in workplace health and safety. Join the book's editor Stephanie Premji, and many of the authors in a curated discussion of the issues covered in this important new volume.

Presenters include:
Stephanie Premji (McMaster) - Causes and Expressions of Inequalities
Wayne Lewchuk (McMaster) - The Millennial Labour Market
Harry S. Shannon (McMaster) - The Aging Population: Implications For Health & Safety
Eduardo Huesca (OHCOW) - Occupational Health of Temporary Foreign Workers
Dan Zuberi (U of T) - Health & Safety In Hotel and Hospital Cleaning
with additional presentations from injured workers and advocates, as well as Q&A.

Date and time: Tuesday, October 1 2019 - 9am to 1pm

Address: 55 University Avenue, Toronto - Room C1/C2 (15th Floor)

For questions, email bancroftinstitute@gmail.com
Register online at bancroft2019.eventbrite.ca

Science & Politics of Work Disability Prevention (November 29, 2018)

On November 29th, The Bancroft Institute is pleased to present a morning session with Professor Ellen MacEachen, Co-Director, Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy, to discuss her new edited collection "The Science and Politics of Work Disability Prevention." (Routledge, 2018)

The event, which will take place at Friends House in Toronto, will also include presentations from other contributors to the book, as well as a handful of panel discussions. One panel will feature injured workers who have successfully returned to work discussing the experiences and supports that made their transition back to employment possible. A second panel will feature academics, activists, healthcare professionals, and worker representatives offering their perspectives on how to build on the successful cases discussed earlier in the day.

The event runs from 9am to 1pm. See the full agenda and register here

There is a suggested donation of $10, payable when you register online or when you arrive at the event. There is no charge for unwaged or underemployed attendees. Drinks and light snacks will be available.

Speakers include:

* Ellen MacEachen (Editor, The Science and Politics of Work Disability Prevention, Routledge, 2018)

* Kari-Pekka Martimo (Finnish Institute of Occupational Health)

* Sang-Hun Mun (Community Organizer, IAVGO Community Legal Clinic)

* Joe Doweall (VP and Government Affairs Representative, International Union of Operating Engineers)

* Kier Munn (Lawyer, Office of the Worker Advisor)

* Ashley Soza Pilkington (Nurse)

* Victoria Mummery (Rehabilitation Nurse, Independent Consultant)

* Debbie Coulson (International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 793)

* Rebecca Gewurtz (School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University)

* Steve Mantis (Chair, Research Action Committee, Ontario Network of Injured Workers' Groups)

Bancroft Institute 2018 Symposium

  • April 25-26, 2018. Keynotes: Antony Singleton and Maryth Yachnin. Workshop location: Friends House, 60 Lowther Avenue, Toronto, Ontario. Click here for more information, click here for text version of the flyer.

Videos for the following Policy and Research Discussion series are available

  • Dec 4, 2017 session: Research and Reporting on Workers' Compensation in the Precarious Economy (see flyer for details)  

Speaker: Sara Mojtehedzadeh [video presentation]

Speaker: Ellen MacEachen [video presentation coming soon]

Speaker: Katherine Lippel [video presentation coming soon]

​Keynote speaker: Stephanie Premji [video presentation]

Ivana Petricone, Injured Worker Story [video presentation]

Panel discussion: Rebecca Gewurtz (McMaster University, School of Rehabilitation Science); Judy Kondrat (Human Rights Legal Support Centre); Debbie Coulson (International Union of Operating Engineers); Steve Mantis (Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups) [video presentation]

Sang-Hun Mun, Injured Worker Story [video presentation]

Annie, Injured Worker Story [video presentation]

​Keynote speaker: Fergal O’Hagan. Click here to watch the video.

Panel discussion: Nadia Collins, Margery Wardle, Mortimer Mamelak, Peri Ballantyne. Click here to watch the video.

Injured Worker Story, Seeta Correia. Click here to watch the video.

Injured Worker Story, Beryl Brown. Click here to watch the video.

Research and Action Workshops

​Steve Mantis and Marion Endicott [video presentation]

Wayne Lewchuk [video presentation]

Karen Messing [video presentation]

Emile Tompa [video presentation]

Peri Ballantyne [video presentation]

Bonnie Heath [video presentation]

Details for the following Policy and Research Discussion series are available

  • Policy & Research Discussion series no. 7 (Oct 3, 2017): Pre-existing or related? Workplace injury and chronic health conditions. Keynote speakers - Becky Casey and Peri Ballantyne. Click here to access the flyer (pdf), click here to access the flyer (word).

  • Policy & Research Discussion series no. 2 (Oct. 10, 2013): “Unjust by Design” (administrative justice). Keynote speaker: Ron Ellis

  • Policy & Research Discussion series no. 1 (May 7, 2013): From Disability to Welfare. Keynote speaker: John Stapleton