Alternative Process to DAC System Prompted for Ontario

A consultation paper outlining a new system to replace Ontario’s designated assessment centers (DACs) has been released by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO).

The “expert assessor network” (EAN) is being proposed as an alternative to what FSCO calls the “adversarial, costly, time consuming, and complex” DAC system. FSCO notes the DAC system has become highly expensive and duplicative when DAC assessments are conducted in addition to section-24 and 42 “Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule” (SABS) assessments. The new network will be run by FSCO, and the former “Minister’s Committee on the DAC System” will be replaced by an “assessment advisory committee”, made up of rehabilitation and disability management experts.

The expert assessors will work through local offices of doctors who will have to adhere to FSCO criteria, with referrals accomplished by a FSCO Internet selection system. The hope is to preserve objectivity in the assessments through the system and new guidelines, including that assessors cannot be involved in treatment of referral parties. FSCO says the future focus will be on diagnosis based on scientific evidence, and recommendations from expert assessors, which will be binding and serve as prima facie evidence at arbitration or in court. However, additional assessments may be allowed if arbitration is sought, the FSCO proposal suggests.