Presumptive Bill

Private Members Bill Seeks Workers Compensation for Firefighters
Ontario firefighters and their families deserve just compensation should they develop an occupational disease, says NDP-MPP Andrea Horwath.

Horwath is the sponsor of Bill 111, An Act to amend the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 with respect to occupational diseases and injuries to firefighters. If enacted, certain cancers or a degenerative neurological disease suffered by a firefighter will be presumed to be caused by their work. Heart damage suffered while fighting a fire or within 24 hours would also be presumed caused by their employment as a firefighter.

"Ontario should lead, not trail others in these matters," says Horwath. "A decade after Hamilton's notorious and deadly Plastimet fire, action is already long overdue."