B.C. expands occupational disease regulation for firefighters with esophageal cancer • Manitoba amends workplace safety regulation on violence prevention • Ontario sector-specific safety plans available online • Newfoundland and Labrador WCB releases privacy statement
British Columbia
Occupational disease regulation for firefighters with cancer expanded
British Columbia is expanding the firefighters’ occupational disease regulation so firefighters who develop esophageal cancer can qualify for benefits more easily under the Workers Compensation Act. In order to qualify for benefits previously, firefighters had to provide additional medical or scientific evidence the cancer was work-related. This will no longer be necessary. Ten types of cancer are now recognized under the act as occupational diseases associated with being a firefighter. Full-time, volunteer, part-time and paid on-call firefighters who primarily perform fire suppression duties and have a minimum 25 years of employment doing this work qualify for the coverage. About 3,800 firefighters in B.C. will be covered by this change. In addition to primary site esophageal cancer, other cancers covered under the act include: primary site brain cancer, primary site bladder cancer, primary site kidney cancer, primary non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and primary site ureter cancer.
