Message from the Chair and Board of Directors

Saeed El-Darahali
Chair, Board of Directors
WCB Nova Scotia

A renewed path forward.

The contribution of workers’ compensation to the fabric of our province stands at a turning point, with a momentous potential unseen in decades.

Our new strategic plan — Protect More — is a crowning achievement for our Board, and one for which we have immense pride. Founded in the three pillars of injury prevention, return-to-work, and exceptional service, it is a path to a province where the workforce is better protected from injury’s impact. This protection means they may safely do their important and needed work, in the many communities across the tapestry of who we are as a people.

However, when injury or tragedy happens, as they still do far too often, our people will be there, providing that exceptional service that has too often been absent from our offering. We will do so with a promise for innovation and continuous improvement, and informed by a renewed commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

The renewal is deeply needed. For while much progress has been made, historically, the gap between service deserved and service delivered has been considerable. Nova Scotia, and its people, are being held back by the vast and precious time that is lost to workplace injury. Perhaps more disconcertingly, we have not always done our part to improve that reality.

It is what makes our new path forward so inspiring — for us, for those we serve, for our system partners. Upon that path, with a new level of accountability, we will protect more Nova Scotians from new types of injury, with much improved service, under the leadership of Karen Adams and her executive team. We are deeply grateful for our partnership with Government, who have made needed changes to our legislation. We appreciate, too, the findings of the recent System Review, the first in decades, which align with changes that are already captured within our Strategic Plan.

Our Board of Directors considers it a privilege to oversee the work of the WCB. We also feel a deep responsibility to ensure that the system remains sustainable, as we venture upon our new strategic journey. That sense of purpose comes from an understanding of this province and its workforce that is within the very core of who we are. Each member of the Board brings a perspective shaped through authentic understanding of the lived realities of workers and employers.

That practical real-world perspective makes us stronger. It has informed our Strategic Plan, as it does the way we govern. It is gained from human connection, which will continue, through an outreach strategy that will see us be present, mindful, and attuned to the thoughts and input of those we serve. We will always listen, and we will always learn.

As we reflect on 2023 in these pages, we do so with a clear and focused view to tomorrow. The goals of WCB Nova Scotia toward 2030 are ambitious, but achievable. They fill us with optimism. They inspire us, every day, in the continued service to this organization and this province, in which we are all so fortunate to work and to live.

It remains my privilege to serve the valued employers and workers of Nova Scotia, as Chair of our Board of Directors. Together with our partners, we look forward to continued evolution in the system as a whole. Working with common purpose, we shall nurture an environment that protects the workforce of today, and the workforce of tomorrow.

Saeed El-Darahali, ONS, MBA, BSC, CHR
In 2021, Mr. El-Darahali was appointed to the Order of Nova Scotia and in 2022 was inducted as a Paul Harris Fellow.