Bill 86: The Meredith Act — Ontario’s Abandoned Comprehensive Reform

📋 What This Guide Covers

Bill 86 (2023) — officially titled the Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act ( workplace violence and harassment) — was Meredith Broughton’s private member’s bill that proposed sweeping, pro-worker reforms to Ontario’s workers’ compensation system before being shut down.

Bill 105 (September 2026) — the focus of our companion Bill 105 KB article — is widely understood among advocates as the provincial government’s counterweight: where Bill 86 would have expanded protections, Bill 105 rolls back core safeguards like the WSIB lock-in period.

Status: 🟥 Shut down — Bill 86 died on the order paper. Its provisions were never enacted. Track Bill 105 advocacy materials for the active legislative fight.

Why it matters: Bill 86 represents the last serious provincial attempt at comprehensive injured-worker reform. Its defeat — and the subsequent introduction of Bill 105’s lock-in removals — marks a clear policy pivot from reform toward restriction.

⚖️ The Core Difference: Philosophies in Conflict

Bill 105 doesn’t just fail to implement Bill 86’s reforms — it rolls back existing protections that Bill 86 sought to strengthen.

🧭 What Bill 86 Proposed (Never Enacted)

While Bill 86 did not pass, its principles and the advocacy coalition behind it remain relevant. The following summarizes what advocates fought for:

Core Reform Pillars (Proposed)

• Independent review tribunal — removing WSIB’s dual role as payer and adjudicator
• Trauma-informed process — especially for PTSD / mental stress claims
• Earlier intervention — shortening the lag between injury and full entitlement
• Expanded coverage — extending protections to more worker categories

Why It Died

• Political timing — introduced as a private member’s bill without government time allocation
• Lobbying opposition — employer groups and insurer-aligned bodies lobbied against the cost implications
• Procedural shutdown — ran out of session; never reached committee consideration

🔗 The Policy Pivot: Bill 86 → Bill 105

Advocates — including those documented in our Bill 105 knowledge base — explicitly frame Bill 105’s lock-in removal as part of a continuum of retreat:

• If Bill 86 represented the reform pathway, Bill 105 is the rollback pathway
• The contrast:
  • Bill 86: Would have strengthened long-term entitlement certainty
  • Bill 105: Removes the 72-month lock-in that protects long-term claimants

✊ Advocate Voices on the Bill 86 → Bill 105 Shift

“We lost the opportunity for real reform with Bill 86, and now they’re taking away the limited protections we have.” — Injured Workers Online commentary, 2026

“Bill 86’s death left a vacuum. Bill 105 fills it with cuts, not reforms.” — OPSEU/SEFPO analysis, 2026

📚 Related Reading

• Bill 105 — WSIB Lock-In Removal (the active fight)
• CanLII WSIB Precedents & Redetermination Rulings
• Injured Workers Online: https://injuredworkersonline.org

📣 Advocacy Action

• ONIWG Lobby Kit: https://share.google/eQCvOjr3eaTHA3PAb
• UFCW e-action (oppose lock-in removal): https://ufcw175.com/bill-105-stand-up-for-injured-workers/
• OLA Bill 105 text: https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-44/session-1/bill-105

Bill 86 research summary compiled from Injured Workers Online archives, OPSEU/SEFPO commentary, and advocacy statements. Last updated: 2026-09-13.

Other systems that may apply to you

This guide covers WSIB/WCB. Depending on your situation, one or more of these may also apply — and applying to one does not decide the others.

• Which System Applies to Me?
• 🎖️ Veterans — VAC benefits — if you also served, a VAC claim is separate from WSIB
• Disability programs when the injury wasn’t work-related — ODSP, CPP, the Canada Disability Benefit, EI, the Disability Tax Credit
• Family and caregiver supports — if someone is caring for you