Ontario is set to fulfill a long-standing request of wildland firefighters by including them in health care rules that cover some cancers, heart injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder related to their work.
The move will come through new legislation set to be introduced by David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills, and will bring forest firefighters in line with their municipal counterparts.
Changes to the laws that categorize forest firefighters to offer long-term coverage for health hazards related to the job have been a long-standing request. Wildland firefighters are generally employed on seasonal contracts and, as a result, have been subject to lower protections than their full-time structural colleagues.
Ahead of the 2024 forest fire season, which officially began on April 1, the Ford government has unveiled new incentives and concessions for its wildland crews. Before the latest announcement, the province had committed to a $5,000 bonus for every forest firefighter on the frontlines this summer.
Ontario saw a particularly tough wildfire season last year, with 741 fires that burned 440,000 hectares of forest.
“Our government is serving those who serve by expanding cancer coverage and ensuring wildland firefighters have the same health coverages that municipal firefighters do,” Piccini said in a statement.
The legislative change — part of a broader package of new rules for workers and workplaces across Ontario — will add presumptive coverage for forest firefighters to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, the government said.
Presumptive coverage means that firefighters won’t have to prove that one of the listed cancers, heart diseases or PTSD came from their time fighting forest fires, instead it will be assumed that is the case and they’ll be covered under the provincial system.
The Ontario NDP welcomed the news, calling it a “long-awaited” victory in a battle to improve conditions for forest firefighters.
“After years of being denied the protection they deserve, forest firefighters have finally received what they have been asking for,” said Guy Bourgouin, NDP critic for natural resources and forestry, in a statement.
“WSIB coverage is a crucial step forward in ensuring the safety and well-being of our forest firefighters, who risk their lives to protect our communities day in and day out.”
OPSEU, the union that represents forest firefighters, has been pushing for the change, with an event in February at Queen’s Park specifically to demand the change.
Piccini said the legislation he plans to introduce would also reduce the years-worked requirement to receive skin cancer coverage to from 15 to 10.
— with a file from The Canadian Press
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