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HEALTH & SAFETY / WCB HISTORIC LEGISLATION SUPPORTS FIRST RESPONDERS WITH PTSD BUT LEAVES OTHERS BEHIND In a government submission on Bill 163, called historic On April 5, the Ontario government passed to support first responders legislation suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Tabled by Labour Minister Kevin Flynn, Bill 163, Supporting Ontario’s First Responders Act amended the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act 1997, creates a presumption that PTSD diagnosed in first responders is work-related, making it quicker and easier access to benefits and treatment. That means first responders, like fire-fighters and police, will no longer have to prove that their PTSD was triggered by tragic situations they see on the job, something that can be difficult to do. Other provinces, like Alberta and Manitoba, have already recognized PTSD as a workplace illness, but Ontario has delayed signing on. This legislation was an important milestone for workplace health and safety, but the OFL and the Ontario NDP have been critical of Bill 163 for leaving many other workers behind. “Post-Trauma,” the OFL argued that other workers who face assaults, sexual violence and traumatic events in their daily routines deserve equal protection under the law. The submission cited nurses, paramedics, personal support workers and subway operators as a handful of the categories of workers who will see no relief in this bill. “All workers suffering from PTSD or other mental illnesses from chronic stress as a result of their work need to be treated with dignity, respect and compensation,” said OFL President Chris Buckley. “Protecting those who become victims of PTSD and other work-related psychological injuries will require new enforcement tools for the Ministry of Labour investigators.” The passage of Bill 163 comes seven years after New Democrat MPP Cheri DiNovo first proposed a private member’s bill that would add PTSD to the list of conditions — such as cancers — recognized as a workplace illness. Since then, DiNovo introduced five unsuccessful bills to recognize PTSD as a workplace injury. “This bill is a long time coming and it will go a long way towards reducing the stigma associated with PTSD, but it falls short of offering protection to every worker who faces significant psychological hazards at work,” said DiNovo. “Nurses, parole officers, bailiffs and many, many others will continue to face a daunting uphill battle to get their injuries recognized, treated and compensated.” The OFL will continue to fight to broaden the scope of the legislation so that other mental injuries are properly recognized by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). It is also calling on the government of Ontario to allow first responders whose claims have been rejected by the WSIB to have their claims re-opened. Read the OFL Submission on Bill 163: http:// ofl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016.03.08-SUBBill163.PTSDOFL.pdf NDP BILL CALLS FOR FLAGS TO BE FLOWN AT HALF-MAST FOR DAY OF MOURNING Only weeks before the April 28, 2016 Day of Mourning for Workers Killed or Injured on the Job, NDP MPP Percy Hatfield’s private member’s bill, Bill 180, an Act to Proclaim a Workers Day of Mourning, passed second reading in the Ontario Legislature. The Act seeks to require all Canadian and Ontario flags outside the legislative building, government of Ontario buildings and other public sector buildings to be flown at half20 mast on the Day of Mourning, April 28 of each year. OFL Health & Safety Director Vern Edwards joined Hatfield in calling for all party support. “If this bill is passed in the House, it will go a long way towards generating awareness and discussions in communities across Ontario about the needless and tragic toll occurring in our workplaces,” said Edwards. “We must make these workplace tragedies as socially unacceptable as those caused by drinking and driving.” SPRING 2016 • VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2 NDP MPP Percy Hatfield and OFL Health & Safety Director Vern Edwards join family members of a fallen worker.