Compensation for volunteers welcome
* pointofview
Posted By TEVIAH MORO TMORO@ORILLIAPACKET.COM
Posted 3 months ago
At the scene of a fire in the Orillia area, it's not uncommon to see volunteers fighting the flames. In fact, it's a regular occurrence.
Our city's fire department couldn't do without its contingent of volunteers, and departments in the surrounding townships depend solely on volunteers.
Their lives ruled by the beeps of pagers, volunteer firefighters have to be ready to drop everything for a blaze.
Most realize that fighting fires is extremely dangerous work. However, what may not be as plainly evident are the lingering health risks
that accompany years on the job.
It seems the province didn't understand that, either. But yesterday, volunteer firefighters won a major victory, one that their fulltime colleagues had already rightfully earned more than two years ago.
In 2007, a bill to compensate fulltime firefighters for work-related cancer received support from all parties.
But since then, the province has been slow to extend the same benefits to volunteers.
Yesterday, the government announced a new regulation for volunteers that "presumes that eight types of cancer...that are suffered by these workers would be work-related, unless proven otherwise."
The new rules for compensation will also apply to part-time firefighters and investigators from the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal.
Local fire departments are hailing the policy adjustment as a long-overdue right.
"It's only right that the volunteers should have the same (coverage.) They fight the same fires," said Eric Dowell, chief of the Severn Township Fire Department, which depends on the service of 76 volunteers.
Chief Ralph Dominelli, or the Orillia Fire Department, said the government's announcement was "great news for all volunteer firefighters in Ontario."
In this area alone, a considerable number of volunteers will benefit, should they fall ill. Aside from Severn, the townships of Oro-Medonte and Ramara also depend solely on volunteers.
While the province's change in direction is most welcome, it is unfortunate it took 30 more months to extend equal compensation rights to volunteers.
