Firefighters Will Find It Easier To Get Compensation Under New Ont. Rules
Posted May 3, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s a move aimed at making life less stressful for the province’s firefighters.
New legislation that was brought forward and passed without debate Thursday means firefighters will have an easier time qualifying for compensation for work-related illnesses and diseases like cancer.
In the past, firefighters were forced to prove to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) that their cancer was directly related to the dangerous job they do each day.
Under the new bill, brought forward by Premier Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals and supported by the opposition, they won’t have to prove the link to be compensated.
McGuinty, in announcing the new legislation before it was passed at Queen’s Park, said those who decide to take on such a hazardous job deserve Ontarians’ support.
“We want to make it fairer so that you can use all your time and energy on the most important task at hand should you become ill, your most important responsibility that you owe to yourselves and your family is to get better, not to engage in a protracted dispute to get compensation,” the Premier said at a morning news conference.
Nathan Shaw, whose father died of cancer of the esophagus after fighting a massive blaze at a Hamilton plastics company in 1997, was pleased with the announcement. According to McGuinty it was that fire that prompted him to rethink the dangers of firefighting.
“This legislation recognizes the dangers firefighters face,” said Fred LeBlanc, president of the Ontario Professional Firefighters’ Association, in a statement. “This initiative demonstrates leadership by the Ontario government and a commitment to firefighters. It gives firefighters and their families proper recognition that is due to them.”
The new regulations identify eight types of cancer believed to be work-related when contracted by full-time firefighters. The WSIB will still consider lifestyle factors in its claim decisions, however.
In another change to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, heart attacks suffered by firefighters within 24 hours of a blaze will also be considered work related.
Highlights of the plan:
- Implement a regulation covering full-time firefighters that would identify eight types of cancer as presumed to be work-related
- Include heart attacks as presumed to be work-related if they occur within 24 hours of a fire
- Consult with fire investigators, part-time and volunteer firefighters to develop the eligibility criteria for how the regulation would apply to these groups
