Administering Danger in the Workplace: The Law and Politics of Occupational Health and Safety Regulation in Ontario, 1850-1914

Gerald J. Stortz is an assistant professor of history at the University
of Waterloo.

Tucker, a law professor at Osgoode Hall, is also an incredibly gifted
social historian. Here he broaches a subject that most labor historians
I know would prefer to avoid: workers’ compensation. In Ontario, since
its institution in 1914, the WCB has operated much as a law unto itself.
While this was seen as a step forward, Tucker argues that, in fact, at
the end of the period under study, despite legislation, the injured
worker—through the complicity of employers and government—may have
been worse off than in the era without laws.

Although this book has all the mandatory scholarly accoutrements, it is
written in plain English, so that even someone without a background in
labor history will immediately get the point. Simply put, this is a very
readable work that will appeal to both the specialist and the general
reader. It does much to explain the sorry state of industrial relations
in Ontario today regarding safety standards.