You’ll never walk alone: remembering Matt Wilson

Matt Wilson is remembered as a gentle giant in Ontario’s health and safety community. Throughout his 30-year career with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), he formed many strong relationships and played an instrumental role developing several initiatives and making improvements to the health and safety system, leaving a lasting legacy. He also inspired many of his colleagues as a respected leader, skilled public speaker, and a positive role model. He was beloved by those who worked with him, and credited with brightening the office with a sharp wit, easy laugh, and romantic obsession with all things Liverpool – whether it was the iconic football club (you didn’t call it soccer around Matt) or ‘80s bands like Echo & The Bunnymen. “Matt Wilson was a real-life Ted Lasso, before anyone knew who that was,” says Rod Cook, Vice President of Workplace Health and Safety Services at the WSIB. “When one of his favourite bands played a concert online during the pandemic lockdown, Matt didn’t buy one ticket to watch at home on his sofa – he bought two, one for himself and one for his wife. He was always honest, positive, supportive, and he made sure a conversation ended with a laugh.” The WSIB office where Matt used to work looks different these days. The red-and-white memorabilia of Liverpool FC are gone, as is the familiar sight of Matt sitting down to open the lunch that his wife Linda made for him every day for more than 30 years. His rumbling laugh doesn’t roll across the room, and there are no more stories about growing up in Scarborough and following his father on early morning rounds as a milkman. Matt’s loss is still deeply felt among his colleagues at the WSIB today. Matt worked with the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development to review the WSIB’s legacy health and safety programs, identifying gaps and opportunities for improvement, leading to the development, design and launch of the WSIB’s Health and Safety Excellence program in 2019. Diana Rea worked with him on the development of the program. She recalls the early days of program design and thinking about how to articulate the overall vision of the program.

“He had a real passion and vision for employees’ health and safety,” says Rea. “Matt really shone at articulating what we were trying to do and why. He would always say, ‘No more binders, no more paper.’ He was always thinking about the shop floor, the boots on the ground, and making it real for them.” His colleagues say the successful program would not have come to be without his influence and ideas. For example, during a discussion on rebates, the conversation quickly got bogged down in how to calculate percentages of premiums and other technical details.

Matt got to work initiating discussions with Gilbeau to find ways to collaborate and potentially have them bring their unique approach to the Health and Safety Excellence program as a provider. “He saw a chance for an underrepresented community to step in and help improve health and safety,” says Cook. “That spark of an idea led to Nokiiwin joining as a member to gain a better understanding of the program, and eventually become a provider, working in their community to bring more Indigenous-led businesses into the program.”

While the loss of Matt is still felt deeply by everyone who worked with him, his colleagues say there is much about him and his work that continues at the WSIB today. Joanne Gordon worked with Matt for fourteen years and says he had a lasting impact on her. “Not a single day goes by when I don’t think about him,” she says. “He was so involved in every aspect of what we do that we’re constantly reminded of him, and constantly thinking, ‘What would Matt do?’ And then, of course, we share a laugh.” Matt left an important mark on policies that continue to improve the health and safety of Ontarians. He also left behind intangible things that live on among his colleagues. “Matt used to always say, ‘Focus on what you can control,’” Cook recalls. “It’s advice I now give to my own daughters. It's such a simple thing, but there’s no point getting upset with things you can’t control. Matt knew how to be happy. He knew how to find satisfaction and contentment.”

At his celebration of life, the parking lot was full and the overflow crowd had to walk for what felt like a kilometre or more, Cook recalls. “He had such an influence on everyone he met that people who had retired 10 or 15 years ago showed up to pay their respects,” Cook says. “He was a leader who had a big impact.” One of Matt’s friends put together a montage of photos about his life. Near the end, there’s a video clip of Matt with friends singing Liverpool FC’s iconic theme, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” With his eyes closed and his arms wrapped around his friends, Matt sings:

When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high… And don't be afraid of the dark. At the end of a storm is a golden sky… And the sweet silver song of a lark. Walk on through the wind, walk on through the rain… Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart… And you'll never walk alone… You will never walk alone.

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“‘Listen,’ Matt said, ‘this rebate has to be simple and worth more to people than a case of beer on the weekend.’” Since the program’s inception, in 2019, over 3,700 businesses have enrolled in various courses to develop and improve their health and safety programs, and the WSIB has distributed $40.6 million in rebates. “He got to see his vision come to life, and that ultimately means he’s helped save lives as well,” says Cook. “Thousands of businesses today have better health and safety programs, and thousands more will also see improvements because of the program Matt helped create.” Matt regularly travelled the province to make connections in the health and safety community. He regularly represented the WSIB and was always on the lookout for opportunities to forge new partnerships. It was at a health and safety conference put on by the Nokiiwin Tribal Council in Thunder Bay that Matt saw one such opportunity. Matt was impressed by the Indigenous lens the Nokiiwin Tribal Council brought to the discussion around health and safety. “When we talk about health and safety through an Indigenous lens, our worldview isn’t about ‘me’ first, it’s about ‘we’ first,” explained Audrey Gilbeau, Executive Director of Nokiiwin Tribal Council. “When we talk health and safety, the conversation always starts at community first.”

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) is here to help. We are determined to reduce the impact of work-related injury and illness on people. We provide wage-loss benefits, medical coverage, and support to help people get back to work and back to what matters. We are one of the largest insurance organizations in North America, covering over five million people in more than 300,000 workplaces across Ontario.

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Matt Wilson

Former Director, Performance and Information Effectiveness

After 30 years at the WSIB, Matt Wilson passed away in 2022. He leaves behind a loving family, an extended family of colleagues and a lasting legacy in the Ontario health and safety community.

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“He got to see his vision come to life, and that ultimately means he’s helped save lives as well”

Rod Cook, vice president of workplace health and safety services, WSIB

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1991

2003

2014

2019

2022

Joined the WSIB as an adjucator

1991

Joined the WSIB’s healthcare data team

2003

Promoted to Director of Workplace Health and Safety Services

2014

Helped launch the Health and Safety Excellence program

2019

Received the Council of Ontario Construction Associations (COCA) Industry Ally award

2022

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Published 28 Aug 2023

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Matt probably sang these words a thousand times over the years, but he also lived them. Whether at home, at the office, or in the broader health and safety community, Matt put these words into action. He built community. He fostered togetherness. He created programs, policies, and systems to ensure nobody felt they had to walk alone. Matt Wilson passed away on September 11, 2022 after a heroic but all-too-quick battle with cancer. He leaves behind his beloved wife, Linda, and his two daughters, Brittany and Alaynna, who will forever cherish their memories together. He is survived by an extended work family at the WSIB that misses him dearly, and he leaves a lasting legacy to the people of Ontario, who will continue to benefit from his vision and dedication to health and safety every single day.

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