Oct 26th 2009
Hostage Taking
Clearly, Mr. Clayton is sorry for what he was forced to do and that was to bring attention to his own claim as well as other workers with long outstanding claims, some going back to over 30 years or more. It also is perfectly clear that the Conservative Government lied to the people of Alberta that all long outstanding claims would be reheard after the Friedman Report determined that there was a culture of denial. I am presently assisting a claimant on one of his claims that goes back 37 years, another of his claims going back 20 years, and another one of his claims going back 3 years. All benefits have been denied despite the fact the gentleman in question has been on CPP disability and AISH for many years, has very stringent work restrictions whereby his primary care doctors have determined that he cannot work at any job due to physical and mental problems created by WCB and supported by two different Psychiatrists. Unlike Mr. Clayton's claim, I know precisely all the details of the claim and would be more than willing to hand these claims over to the Government or the Crown.
If we lived in a perfect world, the
Judge handling Mr. Clayton's claims would order that Mr. Clayton's
files be brought before the court and made public. How can the
public understand what drove a man to do what he did if we are not
able to look into the dark depths of hell that every claimant must
face when filing a claim with WCB. I would be more than willing to
have Mr. Clayton contact me and provide authorization to have his
files sent to me. Once Mr. Claytons files are in my possession, I
would release the files to the newspapers as well as post them on
the Internet. If WCB had nothing to hide, they would not object,
however if they did object, then clearly the Government must conduct
a public inquiry.
In a free and democratic society where
all people are treated with dignity, respect and fairness, we do not
need any security in public or private buildings. We do not live in
a banana republic where armed guards or the military roam the
streets. Terrorism only occurs when people are not treated equally
and have been disenfranchised from the rights that all citizens
share. Why is it that we have human rights laws and Charter rights
for all individuals including heinous criminals and there is no
rights for workers in this country? A worker has no right to legal
counsel that should be a right and paid out of the accident fund.
Why are workers forced to attend IME's from WCB contracted doctors
without having the right to have their IME's from certified
independent doctors of their choice? Why is it that all the weight
of medical evidence is based on a WCB doctor who is in most cases is
just a simple medical doctor or local specialist who has never been
involved in medical research or is peer respected? Why is it that
all of the decision makers are not medical experts or trained in
administrative law specific to workers compensation law rather than
simply administrative law that differs from one body to another? Why
is there no consistencies in Appeals Commissions decisions? Why are
all Appeals Commission decisions unanimous when if you read any case
law relative to the Alberta Appeals Court or the Supreme Court, many
decisions are based on a majority decision? Why is it necessary to
deny the media access to in person Appeals Commissions hearings? Why
is it that all claims are not posted on the Internet providing full
details of the claim, the name of the claimant, the name or the
names of doctors, the names of the decision makers etc? If the
system is such a fair system, why is anything suppressed. Clearly if
a claimant does not want the claim made public, then it would
be clear to me that he/she did not have a legitimate claim. If WCB
does not want the claim made public, then it would be perfectly
clear to me that they have something to hide. Most things in life
are extremely simple if there is no restrictions on the information
that a person must acquire to pass judgment.
Gerry Miller
