Victoria has started debating measures that could help first responders provincewide — including those in Squamish — access mental health support.
It’s an announcement that will likely have implications here in town. First responders in Squamish spoke to The Chief in December about the toll their jobs can take on their mental health.
Amendments to the Workers Compensation Act will be introduced in the legislature, the province said in a news release on Wednesday.
Should they be approved, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues will be added to a list recognizing those conditions are associated with first responders’ jobs.
“First responders, sheriffs and both provincial and federal correctional officers who experience trauma on the job and are diagnosed with a mental disorder should not have the added stress of having to prove that their disorder is work-related in order to receive support and compensation,” said Labour Minister Harry Bains in a news release.
If passed, the new mental-disorder presumption would apply to firefighters, police officers, paramedics, sheriffs and correctional officers.
Additionally, the amendments would extend the existing cancer presumptions for municipal firefighters to include federal firefighters on military bases.
It recognizes that firefighters from military bases may be exposed to dangerous substances, and frequently assist municipalities at off-base incidents.
Squamish Fire Rescue has a program called Critical Incident Stress Management that helps its members deal with the trauma they face in the course of their work.
