Interjurisdictional Agreement - Archived January 2, 2015

Policy

All workers' compensation boards in Canada have signed an Interjurisdictional Agreement on Workers' Compensation (IJA) for the benefit of workers and employers whose business or work takes them into more than one province or territory in Canada.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to outline the general application and exclusions to the IJA.

Guidelines

General

The IJA applies to employers insured under Schedule 1 in Ontario (home jurisdiction) and its collective liability equivalent in any other Canadian jurisdiction (work jurisdiction) with respect to the collection of premiums.

Objective of the IJA

The stated intent of the IJA is to

avoid the duplicate payment of employer premiums on workers’ earnings, see 14-02-12, Insurable Earnings - Interjurisdictional Agreement
assist workers or dependants when more than one jurisdiction may be involved in a claim, see 15-01-09, Entitlement in Ontario and Other Jurisdictions
create a system to permit any Board to provide service to another Board’s claimants
provide a system of dispute resolution between Boards.

Employer Premiums

The IJA ensures that employers do not have to pay duplicate assessments for workers who perform work in more than one Canadian jurisdiction. Under the IJA, employers pro-rate their insurable earnings so that premiums are paid to each Canadian Board for the work performed in that Board’s jurisdiction.

There is an exception to this rule that applies to interjurisdictional trucking and courier employers who participate in the Alternative Assessment Procedure (AAP).

Alternative Assessment Procedure (AAP)

The AAP is a part of the IJA on workers’ compensation. It is an optional procedure for interprovincial trucking and courier employers to pay premiums for workers to one jurisdiction, even though they travel through one or more other Canadian province or territory. For details on the AAP, see 14-02-13, Alternative Assessment Procedure for Interjurisdictional Trucking & Transport Industry.

Exclusions to IJA

The IJA does not apply if

the industry or occupation is not insured by the work jurisdiction
the employment is governed by the Government Employees Compensation Act, e.g., federal government
insurance coverage is by application, and was not applied for in either the work or home jurisdiction, see 12-01-02, Employer by Application
individuals are not automatically covered, and optional insurance was not obtained in either the home or work jurisdiction, see 12-03-02, Optional Insurance
the employer is a self-insurer in both of the jurisdictions (Schedule 2 employers in Ontario).

Application date

This policy applies to all decisions made on or after January 1, 2014.

Policy review schedule

This policy will be reviewed within five years of the application date.

Document history

This document replaces 15-01-11 dated October 12, 2004.

This document was previously published as:
15-01-11 dated November 15, 2002
08-01-06 dated January 4, 1999.