Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER JULY 2019 14 NEWS Lepofsky, a lawyer and accessibil- ity advocate in Toronto. "Employers need to look at this and realize a) status quo is no good. at's not to say everything is bad, but there's just too many barriers, and b) the old way of thinking is wrong," he said. National model standards e legislation will create three new bodies: a chief accessibility officer to oversee implementa- tion; an accessibility commission- er responsible for enforcement and compliance; and a Canadian Accessibility Standards Develop- ment Organization (CASDO) that will develop and revise standards. Led by a board of directors comprised of mostly persons with disabilities, CASDO will be responsible for developing acces- sibility standards in priority areas such as employment, built envi- ronments, and the design and de- livery of programs and services, said Hossack. In an eff ort to establish Canada as a national and global accessi- bility leader, the body will provide opportunities for the disability community and industry to col- laborate on standards develop- ment, she said. "( ese) will be made available as national model standards that could be adopted by other juris- dictions," said Hossack. "Provin- cial and territorial governments will be encouraged to participate as standards are being developed." But the work surrounding ac- cessibility in Canada is far from complete, according to Lepofsky. "We certainly don't think it's the best law it could possibly be, but there are helpful features in it," he said. " ere is a long way to go — it's uneven." Advocates will continue to lob- by federal government parties for their commitment to implement and amend the bill, said Lepofsky. Eff ect on employers e act requires employers un- der federal jurisdiction to comply with the accessibility regulations — including the development of multi-year plans that must be made public for feedback. It also legislates monetary pen- alties for employers that fail to comply — the maximum penalty is $250,000 — and establishes a complaint process, said Simmy Sahdra, employment lawyer at McCarthy Tétrault in Toronto. "I would advise employers to be proactive in assessing their work- places and determining how they can better identify and address barriers impacting people with disabilities," she said. "Accessibility legislation is being implemented across the country and employers should consider how to better address accessibility and accommodation issues within the workplace." Ontario, Manitoba and Nova Scotia have implemented accessi- bility legislation, while others look to follow suit, said Sahdra. As a result, employers can no longer conduct business as usual until requests for accommodation are fi led, said Lepofsky. "You've got to take a far more creative look." Planning for accessible work- places could make a diff erence in the eventual retention of work- ers, helping employers keep valu- able "accumulated expertise" and "institutional memory," he said. "Every employee now working in a workplace is bound to get a disability later in life," said Lep- ofsky. "If you want to hold on to them later, you don't want to have to replace them sooner. You've got to have an accessible work- place; you've got to start plan- ning for that now. Otherwise, you're going to subject yourself to the higher costs of having to replace them sooner and lose their expertise." Federally regulated organiza- tions should immediately devel- op a plan to eliminate and pre- vent barriers, he said, adding the regulations may one day trickle down to the provincial level well. "Any employer could ensure that their workplace is fully ac- cessible in the next fi ve to seven years, because workplaces are changing anyway. e technolo- gy we use, the procedures we use, the job descriptions… everything is in fl ux." Telecommuting options and accessible technologies have al- tered expectations, he said. Senior leadership should also encourage HR to ensure future job descriptions have proper ac- cessibility requirements, employ- ment procedures, workspaces and hiring practices, said Lepofsky. "With such a fl uid workplace, if an employer said right now, 'forget 2040, I want my workplace fully accessible in the next fi ve to seven years, let's get a plan together'… ey could get there... and they could be way ahead of this act." Accessibility is good for the bottom line, said Hossack. "By making workplaces and employment practices inclusive, employers open the door to tal- ent, innovation and creativity," she said. "Canadians know that making their products, services and facilities more inclusive results in more customers and more revenue." Employers must develop public, multi-year plans DISABILITY < pg. 1 ensure that you're going to get more future biosimilars coming to market and driving competi- tion, driving prices down, keeping things sustainable." Evidence on biosimilars in Eu- rope shows patients can make the switch to biosimilars with no loss of safety or effi cacy, he said. B.C.'s decision is "absolutely smart," said Pojskic. "I do expect other jurisdictions to follow. It's a very logical direction." Eff ect on employers While biologics have low utiliza- tion rates in Canada, they are "ex- tremely expensive," with patients prescribed the medicines costing employers thousands of dollars annually, said Keon. e move towards biosimilars is good news for employers, and will be even greater if plan sponsors and insurance providers follow the government's lead, he said. "For employers, this (has) re- ally good potential and is a really good opportunity. It's employers who ultimately pay for their drug programs for their employees," said Keon. "Using the biosimi- lars will provide savings and good quality medicines. It expands the patient choice, introduces more competition, and it'll be a bit of a snowball eff ect." irty per cent of prescription drug costs are currently account- ed for by biologics. While a por- tion is covered by public health plans, more than half of national spending is covered by private plans, he said. "If you have a patient on a bio- logic as an employer, it can cost you tens of thousands of dollars. So, savings from a biosimilar will be very important." " e value for employers is im- proved coverage and benefi ts for their employees and patients," said Keon. " is is an important initia- tive for employers." But private insurers will need to respond to the legislative change before this can truly be deter- mined as good news for employ- ers, said Pojskic. Many patients within the prov- ince are insured through private plans for a period of each year be- fore moving onto the provincial PharmaCare system, he said. "B.C. has moved to transition all of their patients from Remicade, Enbrel and Lantus. Private insur- ance now has to do the same," said Pojskic. "Because if you don't do the same, what eff ectively hap- pens is that those patients never satisfy their deductible, and then they stay with you for the whole year." While savings are expected to be substantial for both public and private plans, the impact will ul- timately depend on how insurers respond, he said. " ey have to make the best choice for their clients, and I think diff erent insurers have diff erent perspectives of what that means." Advice for HR As a result, B.C. employers will need to be proactive in speaking with insurance companies and providers for clarity on this issue, said Pojskic. Working with insurers on the best way to respond and pos- sible implications because of the changes is very important, he said. While high-cost drugs aff ect one per cent of all plan members, the costs are substantial, said Pojskic. "It's highly cost concentrated. You're impacting few people, yes, but the share of cost is huge," he said. " at's going to have a meaningful impact on your plan overall." As a result, employers will need to make choices in terms of which carrier is best suited to protect their dollars and keep costs man- ageable, said Pojskic. "If you do nothing, you're go- ing to face more costs," he said. "If you do something to respond, then you're going to be facing less cost. It's either more or less, but it won't be the same." "You cannot keep status quo. You have to now do something; you have to respond. e question is 'In what direction?'" Education for aff ected employ- ees and patients is also important, to ensure staff are aware of up- coming changes, said Keon. "Education is really key in any switch that employers are going to do, but the savings will make it all worthwhile." e Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association said it con- tinues to study the government's announcement, stating it is too early to forecast the impact this will have on private plans. Impact depends on response from plan sponsors BIOSIMILARS < pg. 3 THE POWER OF PERSISTENCE: MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LITIGATION No matter how challenging, complex or costly the case may be, we will not stop in our pursuit of justice. READ HOW SOME OF OUR CASES ARE ADVANCING THE LAW: Surujdeo (2017 ONCA 41), and Stirrett (2018 ONSC 2595). 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