Manitoba introduces new law to provide automatic PTSD coverage

WATCH: Winnipeg firefighters Alex Forrest, Chad Swayze and Scott Atchison talk about new PTSD legislation.

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government is expanding compensation coverage for workers with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Premier Greg Selinger says a bill now before the legislature is the broadest in Canada, because it applies to all workers, not just emergency responders.

It calls for the presumption that workers suffering from PTSD got it on the job — as long as they are diagnosed by a medical professional.

READ MORE: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Signs and Symptoms

Selinger says that means faster access to treatment and compensation.

Union leaders were on hand to applaud the bill. Sandi Mowat, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union, said many of her members have PTSD and the proposal legislation would eliminate some of the barriers in the way of getting help.

Winnipeg firefighter Chad Swayze told Global News earlier in June that he tried to take his life three times after he was injured by an explosion at a manufacturing plant in 2012.

READ MORE: Manitoba’s new PTSD legislation will save lives: firefighter

“I’d wake up and drink to deal with … negative, negative thoughts,” Swayze said. “You could have died, you should have died — then going into a downward spiral of maybe I should die.”

Swayze said he hopes the new law will save lives.