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Only about 2,400 businesses, roughly 0.75 per cent of the 318,000-plus employers WSIB covers, applied for SIEF cost relief in 2024, according to WSIB. A cottage industry of SIEF consultants grew up around the program’s complexity. “The reality is… the WSIB is coming from a place where we used to be extremely complicated, and processes were set up that were not designed for the end user,” Lazarus said. “A whole cottage industry starts up of people who hang out their shingle and say, I know how this complicated system works and I can help you get through it… It was a legitimate business model based on how this organization was running. We have a strategic plan that is literally titled Better, Easier,…