Lung cancer added to Ontario firefighter health coverage

The City of Ottawa is budgeting an extra $3 million for workers' compensation for firefighters in 2016, as the list of cancerspresumed to be related to a firefighter's exposure to toxins on the jobgrows longer.

As of Jan. 1, the onus is no longer on firefighters full-time, part-time and volunteer and fire investigatorsin Ontario to prove their lung cancer is work-related.

It isthe latest conditionto be covered under what's called presumptive legislation, which was first passed for firefightersin Ontario in 2007.

In 2014, the provincialgovernment expanded the list beyond aninitialeight cancersto include six more that the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board must presume is an occupational disease.

Breast cancer, multiplemyelomaand testicular cancer were added in the spring of 2014, followed by prostate cancer in 2015.Skin cancer is to be phased in on Jan. 1, 2017.

The legislationis retroactive to 1960, so it applies to claims by the families of firefighters who have died.

"It was very emotional, and emotional for the family," saidPeter Kennedy, president of the Ottawa Professional Fire FightersAssociation, of the formerprocess that saw firefighters try to prove their work causedtheircancer."Because, they just knew through a number of horrendous incidents that it had to be related.

"What it does now in the future is give you some comfort that your family will be taken care of," explained Kennedy, who said thelife expectancy of a firefighter is about age 70.

TheOntario Professional Fire FightersAssociationknows of 101 cases of lung cancer among firefighters province-wide, as well as 175 cases of prostate cancer and 68 cases ofthe other four forms of cancer.

Many WSIB costs fall to municipalities

Cities such as Ottawa are responsible for paying the full WSIB benefits to their employees, so they are adding those costs to their budgets.

"One of thebiggest challenges areWSIBcosts," Anthony DiMonte, actinggeneral manager of emergency and protective services, told councillors duringa 2016 budget presentation at the end November.

He cited the presumptive legislation, and how some Ottawafirefighters benefit from WSIB because of the six "tragic" cancersbeing added.

Of the $37-million gap the City of Ottawa had to close by finding cuts and savingsto balance its budget,$4million dollars was forincreased costs for workers' compensation, mostly for firefighters but also for paramedics. That number is based on what Ottawa saw in 2015.

Kennedy, of the firefighters' union, acknowledged the addition of each cancer is a "one-time hit" for the city.

Buthe alsocredited the City of Ottawa with working to prevent its firefighters from getting cancer in the first place.

For instance, Ottawa Fire Services recently boughtnew "self-contained breathing apparatus" that front-line firefighters mustwearinside a structure as theyattack a fire or performrescues.

It also launched a fitness and wellness programincludingmedical evaluations that could detectcancer early.

"We're well below the provincial median for firefighter deaths," said Kennedy, "so we're doing a lot right, here in Ottawa."

• Listen here to Peter Kennedy onOttawa Morning.

Associations seekpost-traumatic stress disorder WSIB coverage

The City of Ottawa is also preparing for future costs should post-traumatic stress disorderamong firefighters, paramedics and policeeventuallybe covered by presumptive legislation some day, DiMonte told councillors during that budget presentation.

A bill to that effect wasintroduced by NDP MPP Cheri DiNovoat Queen's Park in July2014. Her bill is expected to be debated again in February, andDiNovo hopes Ontario will eventually follow the examples of Alberta and Manitoba, which have passed similarlegislation.

Kennedy said the issue has been a priority for theprovincial association of firefighters, and has seen traction among government ministers as well. The Ontario Paramedic Associationhas also pushed for the change.

"It's a very difficult job and you do see a lot ofthings that the general public may not experience," said Kennedy.

In the meantime, Di Monte saidOttawa Fire Services is coming up with a mentalhealth strategy that includesPTSD.