“Ontario recognizes PTSD as work-related for first responders” / Rob Ferguson (Toronto Star, Apr. 5, 2016)
With all-party support, Bill 163, Supporting Ontario’s First Responders Act (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder), 2016 was passed into law Tuesday. The amendment to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act means that police, firefighters and paramedics with post-traumatic stress disorder will no longer have to prove it was caused by tragedies they handled on the job.
Amid the widespread and longstanding support for such legislation making PTSD a “presumptive” occupational illness, questions were also raised why Ontario has not followed Manitoba’s lead and covered all frontline workers, including nurses and other workers, such as child protection staff, probation and parole officers.
In its submission to the Standing Committee considering the Bill, IWC community legal clinic welcomed the legislation but urged the government to also address more broadly the under-compensation of work-related mental health disabilities.
Related reading:
- “Ontario PTSD legislation for first responders celebrated by some, but nurses left out” / John Lancaster, Jennifer Fowler (CBC, Apr. 5, 2016)
- Injured Workers Consultants. 2016 Mar 8. Commentary on Bill 163 Supporting Ontarios First Responders Act (Submission to the Standing Committee on Social Policy)