Liberal labour critic Don Inverarity has been left wondering when the Yukon Workers Compensation Health and Safety Board (WCB) will make an appearance in the legislature this year with just over 10 days left in the fall sitting.

Inverarity questioned Brad Cathers, the minister responsible for the WCB, on the annual appearance Monday after the board said last Friday it will raise rates an average of 11 per cent for 2008, with 13 industries seeing their rates reduced and 39 seeing an increase.

While Inverarity questioned Cathers on rates last week, the minister insisted he is at arm's-length from the board and doesn't interfere with the rates.

One area the minister does have control over, Inverarity pointed out Monday, is when the WCB makes an appearance before the legislature.

Cathers would only state the board will be in the assembly at some point during this session of the legislature.

Cabinet spokesman Albert Petersen said this morning the details of when WCB officials will be in the chamber haven't been finalized yet, though it will happen during this sitting.

Information wasn't available on when that date would be finalized.

'Our biggest problem is we don't know when they're going to turn up,' Inverarity told reporters following question period Monday.

The last day of the legislature sitting is set for Dec. 13. Inverarity pointed out that would not be the ideal day for WCB officials to show up because the legislation that will have to be voted on, passed and proclaimed.

'So I think they (WCB officials) have to turn up sometime this week,' he said, noting the president of the WCB will be away for the early part of December.

While officials have stated rates for employers are going up directly due to the cost of claims, Inverarity argued administration costs are too high.

'They need to look at administrative costs; they need to look at, obviously, the costs of the claims themselves,' he said. 'I think there needs to be some accountability for WCB for the actions that they take and for the rates that they increase.'

As it stands, Inverarity expects he will get notice at the 10 a.m. meeting of house leaders on the day the WCB is set to appear before the legislature.

While he said he'd like more notice, he's been preparing for the appearance by reviewing the annual report of the WCB, anything that comes up from a constituency point of view, looking at any press releases that are sent out, and paying attention to media reports about the WCB.

'The other part of the problem is we only get about two hours of their time,' he said. 'And how do you take a multimillion-dollar [business] and evaluate it and hold them accountable when I only get to ask so many questions and the third party gets to ask them so many questions?

'Really, there has to be a better way to deal with WCB. They have to be held more accountable for their actions.'

Inverarity went on to suggest there need to be some 'major' overhauls in the system.

Meanwhile, the Yukon Federation of Labour's Doug Rody is speaking out against a suggestion by Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce president Rick Karp that the Yukon should merge with B.C.'s or Alberta's workers' compensation program to reduce rates.

'We can't look to other jurisdictions to solve our problems,' Rody said, after arguing it's not administration rates that are responsible for the jump in many rates.

Some rates, where there have been a reduction in claims, are going down, he pointed out.

He also noted he's seen no evidence showing B.C. or Alberta want to take on the Yukon worker's compensation system.

Rates are lower in the two provinces. However, Rody also said if the Yukon joined either jurisdiction for workers' compensation, businesses would be required to then follow the regulations for that province's program and would have little influence on it there.

He acknowledged it may take years for rates for many industries to go down, but as more businesses sign on to programs offered through workers' compensation, injuries in the workplace will drop, eventually resulting in a reduction in claims and thus rates.