Barrie 
Ontario is moving to expand workplace insurance coverage to thousands of care workers who have long operated without it.
The province has introduced proposed legislation that would bring about 29,000 additional workers under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board system. The change would apply to staff in privately run residential care facilities, retirement homes and group homes.
Right now, coverage is not consistent across the sector. Workers doing similar jobs in publicly operated facilities are already protected, while many in private settings are not. The new proposal aims to close that gap.
Labour Minister David Piccini framed the move as overdue. He pointed to the daily reality of frontline care workers who support vulnerable people, saying they should not have to worry about what happens if they are injured or fall ill on the job.
If passed, the legislation would standardize protections regardless of who runs the facility. The province says that could include a wide range of roles, from personal support workers and registered nurses to social workers, occupational therapists and operational staff.
The WSIB, which already covers more than five million workers across 300,000 workplaces in Ontario, provides wage-loss benefits, medical support and return-to-work programs. CEO Jeff Lang said the organization’s goal is to help people recover and get back to work safely when needed.
The proposal comes as part of a broader effort by the province to strengthen worker protections. In 2025, about 165,000 people were employed in the nursing and residential care sector in Ontario. More than 75 per cent of employers in the province already fall under mandatory WSIB coverage.
Further details are expected as the government introduces additional measures in the coming days.
