100 Years WCB

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2016 9 YEARS Congratulations on 100 years of helping Manitoba workers J.G. Janitorial Services Ltd. FOR ALL YOUR JANITORIAL NEEDS P: 204-632-8664 • C: 204-793-0046 • F: 204-697-0630 | info@jgjanitorialservices.ca JOE GONCALVES 1808 MAIN STREET WINNIPEG, MB R2V 2A3 www.jgj gjanitorialservices.ca 1982: Crisis at the Board In 1982, RCMP Inspector D.C. Cooper released a report on the entire field of workers' compensation in Manitoba in response to a WCB employee's public allegations of mismanagement and unfair treatment of claimants. Extensive changes followed the release of this report, including replacing the commissioners and senior management of the WCB and undergoing an in-depth review of WCB management and procedures. It was a tumultuous time at the WCB that helped strengthen the organization for its next chapter. Protecting the Protectors MANITOBA LED THE WAY WITH FIREFIGHTER PRESUMPTION MODEL BY BOB ARMSTRONG I ntense heat and collapsing structures aren't the only dan- gers faced by firefighters re- sponding to a call. Chemical compounds in smoke and ash are an insidious threat that can result in cancer years or decades after the flames are put out. That's why The Workers Compensa- tion Act was amended in 2002 to create a rebuttable presumption that for fire- fighters certain cancers were caused by hazards at fire scenes. That amendment has since been expanded several times, with more kinds of cancer added to the list and volunteer firefighters and em- ployees of the Office of the Fire Commis- sion (OFC) protected as well as full-time firefighters. In protecting the men and women who protect us all, Manitoba set an ex- ample for other provinces and other na- tions, says Alex Forrest, president of the United Firefighters of Winnipeg. "Firefighters always knew that we had a very high rate of cancer," Forrest says. "We had so many of our firefighters who were dying of these cancers." The impetus for the change in 2002 came after more than a dozen Winnipeg firefighters were diagnosed with cancer, in their 40s or early 50s, between 1999 and 2002. "These people put a face to the issue," Forrest says. One of them, Captain Rick Stoyko, became the first firefighter covered by the presumptive legislation before his death in 2003. Forrest recalls him saying, "I want to spend the time I have helping you get firefighters covered for occupa- tional cancer." Adding to that direct, personal appeal, a growing body of large-scale scientific research, including studies conducted in Canada, Norway and the U.S. from 1992 to 2001, established that firefighters had an incidence of cancer two to four times higher than the general population. Given that firefighters have to meet exacting physical fitness standards, notes Forrest, their cancer rate would be expected to be lower than the general population. Part of the danger for firefighters is that they're dealing with new potential carcinogens all the time. Where firefight- ers in the past might have faced build- ings made of wood and filled with wood- en furnishings, today a typical building will be filled with plastic furnishings, laminate countertops and flooring, and clothing and carpets made of synthetic materials. And Forrest says that, every year, 30-40 new kinds of plastic go on the market. Carcinogens can get into a firefighter's system through breathing or absorption through the skin. Using a breathing ap- paratus makes that a less significant threat than absorption, says Forrest. Part of what makes skin absorption such a problem is that when the skin is hot it becomes more permeable. "You can fight a fire on a Saturday and afterwards you decontaminate, clean your gear. You take a shower, maybe shower twice. And then on Tuesday you take a shower and the water is still com- ing black out of your pores." Manitoba first listed primary-site brain, bladder and kidney cancers, non-Hodg- kins lymphoma and leukemia as cancers that would be presumed to be occupa- tional in firefighters. Later amendments added primary-site colorectal, ureter and lung cancers, esophageal and testicular cancers, and multiple myeloma, prostate, skin and breast cancers. In the case of lung cancer, the presumption applies only if the individual has been a non- smoker for a designated period of time. The legislation also applies to employ- ees of the OFC. The Act also includes a presumption that a heart injury suffered by a fire- fighter or worker with the OFC within 24 hours of attending to an emergency is an occupational injury. That change ac- knowledges the extreme stress of fight- ing a fire in full protective gear. "We've had 30- and 40-year-old fire- fighters who literally blew out their hearts fighting fires," says Forrest. Since 2002, more than 200 Manitoba firefighters have been diagnosed as suffering illnesses caused by their occu- pation, and these diagnoses have been accepted by the WCB. About six months after Manitoba be- came the first province to acknowledge in legislation the connection between firefighting and illness, Forrest was in Alberta urging the government of the day to follow suit. Forrest notes that the former premiers of the two provinces, Alberta's Ralph Klein and Manitoba's Gary Doer, were friends despite their political differ- ences, and Klein was impressed by the step Manitoba had made to support its firefighters. "I'll always remember one thing he told me was, 'No way that communist in Manitoba is going to out-do Alberta.' " Today, every province in Canada, with the exception of Newfoundland, has similar legislation, meaning that about 100,000 paid and volunteer firefighters are covered. Forrest says the movement has also spread south of the border, where 40 of the 50 U.S. states have simi- lar laws, and Europe is on the cusp of creating similar legislation. Forrest, who has made presentations on Manitoba's legislation across the U.S., Australia and Europe, estimates that a mil- lion firefighters worldwide are covered. "Every one of the jurisdictions I go to pays homage to Manitoba for be- ing first." ■ United Firefighters of Winnipeg president Alex Forrest estimates that one million firefighters worldwide have coverage, thanks largely to Manitoba's coverage model. Photo by Darcy Finley The Workers Compensation Act also includes a presumption that a heart injury suffered by a firefighter or worker with the OFC within 24 hours of attending to an emergency is an occupational injury. That change acknowledges the extreme stress of fighting a fire in full protective gear. TO KEEP YOUNG WORKERS PROUDLY WORKING WITH WITH THE w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w. w o r w o r w o r w o r w o r w o r w o r w o r w o r w o r w o r w o r w o r k e r k e r k e r k e r k e r k e r k e r k e r k e r k e r k e r k e r s o f o f o f o f o f o f o f o f o f o f o f o f o f o f o f o f o f o f o f o f o f t o m t o m t o m t o m t o m t o m t o m t o m t o m t o m t o m t o m t o m o r r o r r o r r o r r o r r o r r o r r o r r o r r o r r o r r o w o w o w o w o w o w o w o w o w o w o w . c o . c o . c o . c o . c o . c o . c o . c o . c o . c o . c o . c o . c o . c o . c o . c o . c o m

• Cover