Editing Workers' compensation (section)

===Canada===
Workers' compensation was Canada's first social program to be introduced as it was favoured by both workers' groups and employers hoping to avoid lawsuits. The system arose after an inquiry by Ontario Chief Justice [[William Ralph Meredith|William Meredith]], who outlined a system in which workers were to be compensated for workplace injuries if they gave up their right to sue their employers. It was introduced in the various provinces at different dates. Ontario and Nova Scotia were first and second in 1915, Manitoba in 1916, British Columbia in 1917, Alberta and New Brunswick in 1918, and Saskatchewan adopted the program in 1930. It remains a provincial responsibility, and thus the rules vary from province to province. In some provinces, such as in Ontario's [[Workplace Safety and Insurance Board]], the program also has a preventative role ensuring workplace safety. In British Columbia, the occupational health and safety mandate (including the powers to make regulation, inspect and assess administrative penalties) is legislatively assigned to the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia ([[WorkSafeBC]]). In most provinces, the workers' compensation board or commission remains concerned solely with insurance. The workers' compensation insurance system in every province is funded by employers based on their payroll, industry sector, and history of injuries (or lack thereof) in their workplace (usually referred to as "experience rating").