ChangeMakers Celebrates with WCB
This year, we got to work with the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba (WCB) to plan and execute their 100th anniversary.
The WCB provides no-fault compensation to workers who are injured or become ill because of their job. It’s an important part of our social safety net – but not many people know about it. The 100th anniversary is a chance to promote the WCB, its services and the role it plays in the province.
Today, the WCB publicly launched its centenary celebration with a media event. The featured speakers included the usual notables – the Chairperson of the WCB’s Board of Directors, the Minister responsible for the WCB – as well as a two individuals with unique ties to the WCB – Noreen Duncan, the daughter of the WCB’s first Rehabilitation Officer and John W. “Fighting Jack” Wilton, the MLA who introduced workers compensation legislation in Manitoba.
The real Fighting Jack died in 1942. We hired a local actor to portray the “father of the Workers Compensation Act” at the event, as well as in a series of historical vignettes that we produced and featured in an online interactive timeline about the WCB. You can find a picture of the real Fighting Jack in the 100th anniversary calendar [PDF link] that we designed and printed for the WCB (he’s Mr. February).
The celebration will continue over the next few months, with special signage on the WCB’s front plaza, a contest for young Manitobans to learn about the WCB and win prizes, and a special supplement in Saturday’s [September 3] Free Press.
Workers compensation and the WCB have been an important part of the history of Manitoba, part of the foundation for a stable and prosperous province. It’s exciting to be part of celebrating that history.
