NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

1. Deterring assaults against on-duty fire fighters/paramedics

   • The IAFF calls on the Minister of Justice to amend the Criminal Code to provide for greater penalties for assaults against onduty fire fighters and paramedics. We also call on Canada’s Senators to recognize the broad support behind Bill C-321 and to ensure swift passage of this important legislation in the Senate.

2. Eliminating the ‘forever chemical’ PFAS from Fire fighters’ protective gear and fire fighting foams

   • The IAFF calls on the Government of Canada, through Health Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada, to recognize the human health and environmental risks of PFAS and to move quickly to identify PFAS as a full class of chemicals under the CEPA, to ban all uses of PFAS, to support the reclamation and safe disposal of firefighting gear and foams containing PFAS, to assist fire departments and municipalities with the costs of transition to PFAS-free protective gear and to monitor the health of federal workers exposed to PFAS in their workplaces.

3. Strengthening Canada’s Airport Fire Fighting Regulations: Recognizing M-96 and the need to meet international standards for response times and rescue

   • To address significant regulatory shortfalls that needlessly put the safety of the flying public at risk, the IAFF asks the Minister of Transport to heed the adoption of M-96 and without undue delay, bring the Canadian Aviation Regulations up to ICAO standards, including specifying the rescue of trapped passengers as a required and resourced function of airport fire fighters at Canada’s major airports.

NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

1. Responding to the Interface (RTI) training

2. National Framework to Address Occupational Cancer

3. National Building Code

4. New Canadian affiliates

FIRE FIGHTER OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE REDUCTION: BEST PRACTICES AND INTERVENTION WORKSHOP

About the workshop

Fire fighters are exposed to a wide range of both known and suspected carcinogens. Due to the growing concern around firefighting and cancer in Canada, Health Canada and the IAFF co-sponsored a workshop on fire fighter cancer research priorities. Objectives included outlining the state of the science regarding intervention strategies designed to reduce fire fighters’ exposure to toxicants of concern, and to delineate research priorities that will advance the science of intervention, exposure control, and mitigation of adverse health outcomes such as cancer. Fire service stakeholders were identified and invited due to their multidisciplinary expertise, including subject matter experts, speakers, fire fighters, academics, industry representatives, Indigenous organizations, and governmental representatives (e.g., federal, provincial/territorial, municipal).

 April 4, 2022

The IAFF has advocated for the support of Bill C-224, which first reached the House of Commons at the end of January, put forward by Quebec MP Sherry Romanado.

On April 4, 2022, there was overwhelming support for Bill C-224 by a number of members of parliament at the 2nd reading. Supported by

• Don Davies, MP - Vancouver - Kingsway, NDP

• Chris Lewis, MP - Exon, Conservative

• John Aldag, MP - Cloverdale - Langley City, Liberal

• Todd Doherty, MP - Cariboo - Prince George, Conservative (deferred to 3rd reading due to time limits)

Bill C-224 proposes a national framework for cancers linked to firefighting act that will assist with prevention, treatments, and ensuring adequate support is there if a fire fighter develops job related cancer.