Senator Yussuff: Thank you very kindly for your question. I think you address one of the most fundamental challenges that firefighters, and their families, face when they get ill as a result of their work. Because, of course, the provinces, to a large extent, establish workers’ compensation systems, it is for them to adapt their system to recognize these carcinogens have a critical impact on the lives of these workers when they go to work. Of course, we don’t have consistency across the country.

It is mind-boggling today that in some jurisdictions, 29 of the carcinogens are recognized for what they are. In other places, it’s 9 or 16 or fewer than that.

So the reality is, of course, that the firefighters who are lucky enough to live where an enlightened province or territory has taken the decision to add more carcinogens to the list of carcinogens that workers can be impacted by in terms of their work will get workers’ compensation benefits should they get sick, but in many places, they fall between the cracks.

Within the federal jurisdiction, as you know, there is no workers’ compensation system. I would say it would be unwise to put an amendment in the bill and somehow think that will motivate the provinces. It would be critical for the federal government to try to bring the provinces and the territories together, for one, to show what some of the provinces and territories are doing, which is very positive and enlightening, but also to recognize that other provinces should acknowledge that this is the direction they need to go in.

I know in your own territory, you have done the most in regard to recognizing carcinogens, and that is a result of enlightened political leadership. In some provinces, we have a distance to go.

Many firefighters who are dying as a result of these carcinogen-related cancers are hopeful that in the near future all provinces and territories will adopt a common standard of how they treat workers when they get ill and, more importantly, of course, provide them the compensation they need, recognizing that giving compensation does not resolve the issue of dying from a carcinogen, which is a bigger challenge we have to face. How do we prevent those carcinogens from getting into our society? More importantly, how do we ensure the equipment these workers are using when they go into buildings and homes to fight fires is not making them sick when they come home to their families?

Senator Yussuff: Thank you very kindly for the question. I believe, of course, as you know, the majority of the regulations in regard to occupational health and safety reside in the provincial and territorial governments. It’s there where we need the greatest action in the context of what some provinces and territories are already doing. Of course, the challenge is we don’t have uniformity of application across the country of how we treat cancer, much less how we can prevent firefighters from being exposed to the carcinogens they are dealing with when they go in to fight a fire.

I am hopeful that with the federal government taking the lead, should this bill pass, it will help coordinate that effort and bring into context a national approach of how we can better protect firefighters doing their job and, more importantly, ensuring that they have the right application. In addition to that, of course, there can be a national coordinated effort of how we can study the impact of these carcinogens and the impact on firefighters and, of course, their illnesses on a day-to-day basis.

More importantly, the gear that firefighters use to help protect them when they go in to fight a fire should not make them sick, so we need to do a better job of determining how to decontaminate the protective equipment that they use on a day‑to-day basis. Right now, there is no uniformity as to how we approach that issue across the country.

In addition to that, research can bring about a better way to help these firefighters protect themselves after they fight a fire in our communities and across this country.

Senator Yussuff: Again, thank you for the supplementary question. I think the suit that firefighters use when fighting fires certainly is problematic in the context of how it protects them from fire, but it doesn’t protect them from carcinogens.

Of course, I’m sure we will develop better suits as time goes on, but in the meantime, we need to figure out how those suits can be decontaminated after a firefighter comes back from fighting a fire.

Again, while the bill does not spell out which minister will be responsible for taking this bill up should it become law, in my humble opinion, it will be both the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Health because there are two aspects to the bill. Both ministers will have to collaborate on how they will engage their colleagues at the provincial and territorial level to ensure some of the requirements of the bill are met, but equally to address some of the issues that you have raised. For instance, the Minister of Labour can certainly speak to his counterparts about the need to have uniformity across the country as to how firefighter cancers are treated in regard to the workers’ compensation systems.

At the same time, given the provincial health and safety laws address the safety of equipment that you use — and that is in the context of the suit that they use — there could be a uniformed approach as to how those suits could be decontaminated if equipment should exist that can do so in other jurisdictions.

It would be equally important for these two ministers to collaborate but, equally, to ensure every aspect that the bill attempts to address will be accomplished in the context of that collaboration, recognizing that the system across the country — which is a patchwork — will require provinces and territories wanting to change that. Hopefully, moral persuasion and political efforts can make a difference at the end of the day.

As you know, the men and women who go out to do this job don’t question it. They understand there is risk, as I did speaking to Craig’s family. What was very hard, I didn’t have an answer in regard to why the workers’ compensation system in Ontario is denying them benefits and why, at the time when it’s most needed in their family, they have to ponder what would happen should they not get that workers’ compensation.

For his two children and his wife, while he is receiving treatment, something should happen. I think it’s terrible. Firefighters, of course, as you know, recognize that what they are doing is dangerous. At the same time, they sign up for it. We, as a society, recognize we need firefighters. In the absence of them, who will show up to fight the fires and help us with these challenges?

Yet, within the law, there are challenges that these workers face. I do believe with this bill, should it pass in the Senate and become law, we can certainly accelerate the efforts of the federal government in playing a leading role in bringing all of the elements and provincial and territorial governments together to carry out the objective of the bill.

Thank you.