If premiums are not paid into the WC fund for an officer or director, then they are deemed to be "outside the act" and do not enjoy protection of the sole remedy feature of the act. This means that the injured worker may sue the officer or director in tort. The WCB may also choose to subrogate for their payments made to an injured worker.

To cope with this change, Tony says that most insurance brokers in Alberta now incorporate full employers liability coverage into their commercial liability insurance placements.

Jack McKenzie of Dowling Insurance Brokers in Winnipeg says the situation is similar in Manitoba, If premiums are not paid into the WC fund for any officer or director, it is important to make sure that they have adequate protection in the CL policy. Jack notes that CCL policies are rarely standard in this respect. This means looking closely at the wording of the CCL and contingent EL covers and, if necessary, negotiating with the insurer to provide full EL cover.

Because the rules in each province vary, you must check the rules in your province carefully. Our thanks to Tony and Jack for bringing these emerging liability exposures to our attention.

We also note that our commercial clients and their officers and directors may be liable in tort for workplace injuries in other contexts:

• Injuries to other employees, officers, or directors for whom WCB contributions are not made
• Self-employed workers who do not make WCB contributions on their own behalf
• Your employees who may be working temporarily out of province
• Temporary workers from other jurisdictions, including employees of suppliers or sub-contractors
• Workers whose employers are permitted by legislation to opt out of WCB contributions and self-insure, such as railroads and other public employees. Railroad side-track agreements typically impose full liability on the side-track user, even when the railroad would otherwise he solely responsible for the injuries.