Bill 21: An Act to Amend the Workers’ Compensation Act (WSCC)

This bill affects employers in the Northwest Territories across all industries — construction, mining, retail, hospitality, healthcare, and any other sector with workers covered under the WSCC. Whether you run a small contracting crew in Yellowknife or a larger operation in a remote community, your workers' compensation premiums and claims processes will be governed by the new benefit structure. Day-to-day, this means that if one of your workers is injured on the job and has a lasting impairment, the compensation they receive will be calculated differently than before — shifting from ongoing pension payments to a combination of a one-time lump sum and a monthly income-replacement benefit tied to actual earning capacity loss. Employers who employ seasonal workers or those in remote communities will also see specific rules about how earning capacity is assessed geographically and by season.