THUNDER BAY — City Fire Chief Greg Hankkio is welcoming the Ontario government's decision to add thyroid and pancreatic cancer to the list of presumptive occupation-related cancers.
The decision, announced Friday, means firefighters who develop these cancers will be able to get their claims processed more quickly by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.
WSIB previously recognized 17 other types of cancer as an occupational hazard for firefighters. Firefighters in Canada die of cancer at a rate much higher than the general population.
Hankkio called the expansion of coverage by the WSIB an important development.
"Every day it's important to recognize that we put our firefighters at risk. We put them into conditions that will lead to enhanced levels of cancer, up to four times higher. From a presumptive side, from an access to treatment and recovery side, this is an important change."
Hankkio said he's glad to see that the expanded coverage for claims will be retroactive to 1960.
"Over the course of my career, there have been multiple cases of cancer that have fallen out of the presumptive legislation," he said.
The fire chief said there have been improvements in personal protective equipment, changes in standard operating procedures, and a greater focus on firefighter health and safety.
"We've quite frankly seen the actual numbers diminish over the last number of years, which is a good thing on the preventative side," Hankkio said.
But he said he imagines that with the pending change in legislation, "we may see some cases come forward that were not previously recognized under the presumption."
Hankkio said firefighter safety related specifically to cancer is "front and centre in our minds all the time."
The regulatory amendments will apply to full-time, volunteer and part-time firefighters, including those employed by First Nations band councils.
Last year, the World Health Organization reclassified firefighting as a carcinogenic profession, after previously stating that firefighters could "possibly" develop cancer.
Kelly Masotti, the vice-president of advocacy for the Canadian Cancer Society, said the organization applauds the Ontario government's move.
"Firefighters provide a tremendous service to our communities, and for the protections they provide to our safety, it's important the same protections against occupational exposure be provided back to them."
