Ontario to extend WSIB coverage in privately run retirement and group homes

Ontario Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development David Piccini speaks at a press conference in Kitchener, Ont., on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

Ontario is planning to extend workplace safety and insurance coverage to health-care and support workers in privately run retirement homes and group homes.

Privately operated residential care facilities such as retirement homes and group homes, including foster homes, are currently not subject to mandatory coverage under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.

Labour Minister David Piccini said front-line care workers deserve to know they will be protected if something goes wrong on the job.

“If someone is hurt lifting a client, responding to a behavioural incident or dealing with a medical emergency, they may not have access to wage replacement (currently),” he said at a press conference.

“They may not have access to proper medical support, and they may not have that clear path back to work.”

The new legislative measure is set to be part of a broader set of changes to labour rules.

Extending Workplace Safety and Insurance Board coverage to those approximately 29,000 workers would ensure they are protected if they are injured or become ill on the job, the government said. The staff that could be affected include nurses, personal support workers and resident care workers.

The union SEIU Healthcare said it has been pushing for the change for a long time and representatives are glad it will now come to pass.

“Care workers deserve a better deal to recognize their contributions,” president Tyler Downey said at a press conference.

“But for too long, care workers in group homes and retirement homes have done that job without the protection they should have had when they were hurt on the job, and that’s why today matters so much.”

Interim Liberal leader John Fraser has introduced private member’s bills to accomplish the same thing six times, including one attempt that the Progressive Conservatives voted against in 2023.

“(Piccini) was probably the fourth or fifth minister I brought it up to, so I’ve got to thank him for doing it,” Fraser said. “It’s a great day for these folks who really deserve to have coverage.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2026.

Allison Jones, The Canadian Press