As Quebec’s election campaign unfolds, twelve organizations defending workers injured or made ill by their jobs—including the Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC-CTI)—are calling on the main political parties to take action.
In a joint letter sent on September 2, 2026, the organizations denounce the increasing legal battles within Quebec’s workers’ compensation system. Employer appeals before the Tribunal rose from 2,343 in 1997–1998 to 29,688 in 2024—an increase of nearly 1,200%. Employer-initiated appeals now account for more than three-quarters of all disputes involving workplace injuries and occupational diseases.
These systematic appeals deepen the insecurity faced by injured and ill workers, delay their access to compensation and medical treatment, and often force them to bear significant legal costs simply to defend their rights.
The Act to Modernize the Occupational Health and Safety Regime requires the government to review the reform five years after its adoption. The organizations are calling on all parties to commit to making this review a genuine examination of the system—particularly its funding mechanisms—in order to reduce the financial incentives that encourage employers to multiply appeals.
They are also demanding that the Committee on Labour and the Economy be mandated, as soon as the National Assembly resumes its work, to examine the report publicly and recommend concrete changes. Injured and ill workers must no longer be forced to pay the price of a system that encourages employers to challenge their rights.
Read and download the full letter in PDF
For more information about the campaign against the excessive use of legal challenges: uttam.quebec/judiciarisation
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