Evidence of meeting #52 for Veterans Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was worker.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Robert Gordon Kitchen Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Sure.
If you were dealing with a client with PTSD and the doctor prescribed medical marijuana for them, who would pay for that?
Executive Director, Case Management, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Ontario)
It would not be the WSIB of Ontario.
Conservative
Executive Director, Case Management, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Ontario)
No.
Conservative
Executive Director, Case Management, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Ontario)
Well, it's not within our drug formulary. It is our medical opinion and our legal opinion that there's no proof that it is effective in the treatment of our injuries. That's our stand right now.
Conservative
Robert Gordon Kitchen Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
As I mentioned earlier, there are differences between provincial WCBs or WSIBs. Have you put together any sort of chart that we might be able to access to see the differences among Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Quebec...?
Executive Director, Case Management, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Ontario)
Is this for post-traumatic stress in particular?
Conservative
Executive Director, Case Management, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Ontario)
In the whole compensation system?
Conservative
Executive Director, Case Management, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Ontario)
We do connect regularly. We have an association of compensation boards across Canada. Yes, we would have that.
Conservative
Robert Gordon Kitchen Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
You would have a flow chart on it that we might be able to access?
Executive Director, Case Management, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Ontario)
Someone would, yes. I'm sure I could find it or get someone to do it. Yes.
NDP
Sheri Benson NDP Saskatoon West, SK
I have a couple of things.
You talked a bit about how a treatment plan that included medical marijuana wouldn't be part of an acceptable treatment, from your perspective. When you started to look at PTSD more than in the past—as we all did—the corporation must have had to start to be more open to different or alternative therapies. I wondered if you want to comment on the processes inside the organization when you start to look at something like this that's—I'm going to use air quotes here—“new”. We know it isn't new, but it is new for institutions, governments, and insurance companies to look at PTSD and its effects on folks.
Executive Director, Case Management, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Ontario)
You know, I'm not overly familiar with that part of our large organization.
Executive Director, Case Management, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Ontario)
I do know that there's a certain amount of rigour around anything we do with respect to our drug formulary and what's accepted or not. We look at research, and I know that there's a department that specifically drills into it.
On medical marijuana, I've seen some discussion around that and where the world is going, so to speak, but we're sticking to the clinical evidence so far and the top research says about whether it really makes a difference or not. That's where we are right now.
NDP
Sheri Benson NDP Saskatoon West, SK
Right.
When we're talking about PTSD and people accessing psychiatric or psychological services, those therapists would be in charge of the kinds of therapies that people could have—
Executive Director, Case Management, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Ontario)
Yes.
NDP
Sheri Benson NDP Saskatoon West, SK
—so they could be open to something when someone is having a difficulty and something isn't working. They would continue to work, depending on the trauma, depending on the event, and they would leave that to—
Executive Director, Case Management, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Ontario)
Right, of course. They would follow a treatment plan, but we won't necessarily pay for the drug.
NDP
Sheri Benson NDP Saskatoon West, SK
Right. Got it.
This is probably an issue for a lot of government programs, including Veterans Affairs, but you mentioned that the corporation would fund an assessment even before someone is maybe eligible for your program. I wondered if you could share with us how that works.
Executive Director, Case Management, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Ontario)
Okay. I'm not overly familiar with that. I know that it's a nuance for this type of injury and—
