Quebec will expand list of work-related cancers linked to firefighting
CBC
After years of firefighters' unions lobbying to get Quebec's workplace health and safety board, the CNESST, to recognize more cancers linked to their work, the province plans to add six more to the presumptive cancer list.
Under the proposed amendment, leukemia, brain, testicular, esophageal, colorectal and breast cancer will be added, removing the need for firefighters to prove the disease was work-related.
In the past, if a firefighter got sick with a cancer that was not on the list, the onus fell on them to prove it was directly related to their job.
In an interview with CBC News, Labour Minister Jean Boulet said he's heard from many firefighters who faced long delays to get the compensation they deserve.
"It has become a priority for me," said Boulet, who added he was proud to remove this burden. "I'm very happy, not only for the firefighters, but for their families."
The CNESST estimates that these changes will help dozens of firefighters a year get compensation.
Boulet said the work is not finished.
"We will keep improving the situation," said Boulet. "It's still my intention to add new cancers."
The CNESST currently recognizes nine cancers that are directly related to firefighting — the fewest in all of Canada.
For comparison, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia recognize between 18 and 20 types of workplace-related cancers for firefighters.
The change, which is expected to be in place by March 2025 would bring Quebec's number up to 15. It's not parity, but would represent the vast majority of the cancers firefighters are diagnosed with, said Chris Ross, president of the Montreal Firefighters Association, which has called for the list to be expanded for more than a decade.
He was happy the labour minister had taken this step.
"Fires don't burn differently in Quebec," said Ross. "We have the exact same risks of cancer of any firefighter and there was absolutely no reason a Quebec firefighter should be considered a second-class firefighter."
This year alone, eight Montreal firefighters have died from cancer recognized by the CNESST as being work-related, said Ross.
As their role in health care continues to grow, nurse practitioners across Canada are looking to Alberta, where nurse practitioners recently formed their own union — but on P.E.I., the nurses' union that represents them says it's doing its job.
As the fallout over fallen buildings in Gore Park continues, Hamilton officials will be turning their attention to other properties.
Fire crews responded to a transport truck fire on the Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit.
When the government touts that its auto insurance reforms might curb premiums by $400 come 2027, the ministers and premier don't readily mention what's to come in the three years leading up to that.
Who poses the greater threat to the free speech of Conservative MPs — the Speaker of the House of Commons or the leader of the Conservative Party?
As city council prepares to vote on a temporary shelter village for people experiencing homelessness in Thunder Bay, Ont., opposition is growing among the area's business community.
A Toronto centre for Black art is hosting an exhibition this weekend that exclusively features work by artists from across the African diaspora.
Click on the video player above on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. ET to watch the 2024 Vanier Cup.
This story is part of CBC Health's Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here.
Some Canadian seniors say they're feeling abandoned by the Liberal government's latest inflation relief measure after learning they don't qualify for it.
WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.