Simon's Legal Resources

WSIA - Policy Manuals

. Colella v. Ng

In Colella v. Ng (Div Court, 2024) the Divisional Court considered the legal status of the "WSIB Operational Policy Manual":

[19] In making the determination as to whether Colella was in the course of employment, the Tribunal referred to the WSIB Operational Policy Manual 15-02-02 (the “OPM”) which provides some guidance on when an accident will be found to be in the course of employment. The OPM provides that the determination of that question will depend primarily on the circumstances relating to place, time and activity surrounding the accident.

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[42] I agree with counsel for the Tribunal that the policies referred to in the decisions under review have no necessary binding force on the Tribunal. Even if they were so binding, the Tribunal would have been required to consider whether and how they might be applied with regard to the facts and unique circumstances of the case before it, as was done here. In this case, the Tribunal carefully reviewed those policies and relevant past decisions and properly considered whether they applied to this particular case.