Ontario Government Expands Cancer Coverage for Firefighters

The Ontario government has expanded the list of presumptive cancers to include thyroid and pancreatic cancers. The new coverage makes it faster and easier for firefighters to access compensation and supports from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).

According to a government media release, “Firefighters die of cancer at a rate up to four times higher than the general population. On average, 50 to 60 firefighters die of cancer yearly in Canada, and half of those are from Ontario. Proposed changes by the government will streamline the assessment of WSIB claims by presuming they are work-related. . . .

“Expanded coverage for claims related to thyroid and pancreatic cancers would be retroactive to January 1, 1960. These changes would apply to full-time, volunteer, and part-time firefighters, firefighters employed by First Nations band councils, and fire investigators. . . .

“There are 437 fire departments and about 30,000 firefighters in Ontario, including about 12,000 full-time firefighters, nearly 19,000 volunteer firefighters and more than 400 part-time firefighters. Five Canadian jurisdictions (Yukon, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and British Columbia) have recently added presumptive entitlement for thyroid and pancreatic cancers.”