New legislation will expand presumptive cancer coverage for firefighters. Pictured: Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Photo Credit: Doug Ford/X.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and other members of his government were in Hamilton recently to announce new legislation that, if passed, will expand presumptive cancer coverage for firefighters.
The announcement was made at the Hamilton Fire Department Training Academy near the Stone Church Road and Nebo Road intersection on the Mountain.
Presumptive coverage means that certain firefighter Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) claims are streamlined, made to automatically presume that a worker’s illness is work-related.
This presumption makes it faster and easier for them to access potential benefits such as required healthcare help, lost wages coverage, and survivors’ payments.
This coverage is specific to firefighters since they reportedly die of cancer at a rate up to four times higher than the general population, which is attributed to their work.
The new changes, if passed, would mean that, in the case of primary-site kidney cancer, a firefighter will qualify for coverage if they have worked a minimum of 10 years.
Currently, the required duration of service for coverage is 20 years. This change would mean that Ontario will have the lowest required duration of service for coverage in Canada.
The province is also proposing to remove the requirement that a firefighter’s primary-site colorectal diagnosis must be made before the age of 61.
“Firefighters and investigators make major sacrifices to keep our communities, property and families safe and we owe it to them to always have their backs,” said Ford.
The Ontario government has already made multiple other improvements in coverage for firefighters since 2021.
The government passed legislation to include wildland firefighters and investigators under the same presumptive coverage as municipal firefighters for occupational cancers, heart injuries, and PTSD.
They also expanded presumptive cancer coverage to include primate-site thyroid and pancreatic cancers.
In addition, the government reduced the required durations of service for primary-site esophageal cancer and primary-site skin cancer to 15 and 10 years respectively.
Ford made the announcement in Hamilton since the city was the site of a toxic, four-day fire at the Plastimet recycling plant in 1997.
The fire burned through 400 tonnes of plastic.
Hamilton Fire Captain Bob Shaw helped fight the Plastimet fire and later died of esophageal cancer in 2004.
Shaw’s illness was attributed to the fire.
Greg Horton, President of the Ontario Professional Firefighters Association, commented on the announcement, saying, “This year has been pivotal for firefighter presumptive coverage legislation in Ontario. I am thrilled that today, the government announced legislative amendments addressing kidney cancer and colorectal cancer.”
“These important revisions are seminal and ensure that all firefighters who develop these occupational cancers while safeguarding Ontarians, will have better access to the support and coverage they need,” he continued.
David Piccini, Ontario’s Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development, also commented, “While some people run away from danger, firefighters, investigators and volunteers run towards it. These heroes keep our families and communities safe and they deserve a government that values their service and sacrifice.”
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
