Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry

Toronto, ON – Ontario’s forest firefighters will soon have the same presumptive WSIB coverage that urban firefighters do. Like urban firefighters, forest firefighters are at a higher risk of cancer, heart disease and heart injuries, and post-traumatic stress disorder. While certain diagnoses for urban firefighters are presumed to be work related, forest firefighters didn’t have...

Toronto – As our communities brace for the imminent start of the 2024 wildfire season, Wildland fire workers are calling a one-time bonus announced today by the Ford government a drop in the bucket, BandAid response that won’t fix the dire and ongoing crisis. Last season – Canada’s most destructive on record – frontline Wildland...

On Monday, February 26, OPSEU/SEFPO forest firefighter and Local 703 VP Noah Freedman and OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick spoke at a press conference at Queen’s Park calling for immediate government action to fix the health and safety crisis for Ontario’s forest firefighters before the imminent start of the 2024 wildfire season. They were joined by...