Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association Benefits ... · 1 Ontario Professional Fire Fighters...

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Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association

Benefits Committee 2018 Convention Report

June 2017 – May 2018

To all Officers and Delegates attending the 21st Annual Convention of the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association in Blue Mountain, June 4th to 8th 2018. On behalf of the Benefits Committee, I am submitting the following report: Dear Brothers & Sisters; At the Spring Seminar the Benefits Committee reported to the general session. Delegates were educated on the ever-changing landscape and provided with suggestions to arm Locals for the future. With topics ranging from creating a benefits issues form to the recent privatization of clinics which will end OHIP covered hospital beds in those facilities, it was obvious we need to stay current. Strategies were presented, utilizing lessons learned and best practices. There was a review of a comprehensive master plan highlighting the importance of gaining as much knowledge about your plan as possible. Benefits comprise an important element within our members overall compensation. However, the complexity and variants in available information mean there are discrepancies within the range of understanding benefits across our Provincial Organization. Locals frequently rely on the Benefits Providers and their City Representatives as their source for information and coverage. Subsequently, this often results in a reduction of benefits. With the increasing push from employers to transition from one Benefits Carrier to another, these tactics will lead to an erosion of benefits. Unfortunately, many Locals are too small to have utilization numbers high enough to become aware of these changes until these changes are firmly established without any challenge to best practice. Without the proper education, the Employers will end past practices, obtain personal medical information and eliminate numerous benefits without the awareness of many of our Associations. Education is knowledge and knowledge is power. It is important that the Benefits Committee needs to continue to focus on and promote education throughout the next term. We all recognize that the OPFFA is a diverse membership and we all need to be able to speak the same language in order for us to have strength as a blended organization. Recognizing that each Local has its own specific needs according to size and utilization, it is often very difficult to be aware of what is needed to properly protect what is ours. It is important that each Local have its own designated Benefits Committee. We cannot rely on the person from Human Resources or the Benefits Providers. Each Local needs to be the expert of what belongs to your membership. The Committee has been a resource and, when called upon, have provided information, education and data as requested. Continuing education opportunities should be a focus as we strive to provide the most comprehensive understanding of benefits throughout the province.

In conclusion, I would be remiss if I did not extend my thanks to the members of the OPFFA Executive

Board for their continued assistance and guidance.

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The following is a report of my activities for the past year and is respectfully submitted for your information and review. In consideration for space and printing costs, it does not include the numerous phone calls, emails and/or verbal inquires made to me over the past year.

2017 Activity

05/17/17 Call from District Vice President over bargaining issue

05/22/17 Worked with local President re change of benefits carrier

05/27/17 Worked with local President re change of benefits carrier

2006-02-17 Worked with local President re change of benefits carrier

07/18/17 Phone call from local president over benefits issue

09/21/17 Preparation for seminar

09/27/17 DVP consolation re benefits packages

2010-05-17 Preparation for seminar

10/15/17 Jeff Nester re benefits questions and contacts

10/22/17 Phone call Colin Hunter

2011-06-17 Phone call Colin Hunter

11/16/17 Preparation for seminar

12/14/17 Phone call Colin Hunter


2001-04-18 Benefit advice provided

01/13/18 Jeff Nester re benefits questions and contacts

2002-02-18 Phone call Colin Hunter



2004-09-18 Preparation for seminar

2004-11-18 Presented at spring seminar

I would respectfully like to extend my thanks to the members of the OPFFA Executive Board for their continued assistance and guidance. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family for their understanding when I was unable to attend various family celebrations and gatherings while away tending to the business of this Association. Without their support, I could not discharge the duties and responsibilities associated with being the OPFFA Benefits Committee Chairperson. Respectfully submitted, Kevin McCarthy OPFFA Benefits Committee Chairperson Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association


Education Committee 2018 Convention Report

June 2017 – May 2018 To all Officers and Delegates attending the 21st Annual Convention of the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association at Blue Mountain Resort; June 4th to 6th 2018. On behalf of the Committee, I am submitting the following report: Dear Brothers & Sisters; Last year’s Dr. Eric G. Taylor Fall Labour Education seminar was held from October 1st to October 5th, 2017, at the Marriot Gateway Hotel in Niagara Falls with 171 participants. All participants were in General Session for for the Monday and Thursday, at which time they heard from a number of speakers, who covered a wide variety of topics. They also were able to choose from one of five courses available for our sessions on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Courses

• General Session Issues – which consisted of

Political Engagement for OPFFA members: Bobby Walman, Civicworks Consulting Group Inc. Quito Maggi, Mainstreet Research Chad Walsh, Ontario Liberal Party Garfield Dunlop, Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario Rowena Santos, Ontario New Democratic Party IAFF Canadian Office Update Scott Marks, IAFF Assistant to the General President, Canadian Operations Fred LeBlanc, IAFF 13th District Vice President

EMS Update & Tech Table Safety Standards Update Rob Hyndman, President Mark Train, Executive Vice President

Advocate Panel Colin Hunter, Moderator Jeff Nester Bob McCutcheon Carmen Santoro Mike Doyle Mike Palachik

Update on Bargaining Trends Jeffrey Sack, Jeffrey Sack Law

Fall Legislative Agenda Rob Hyndman, President Mark Train, Executive Vice President

Working Families

Marcel Weider, President – Arrow Communications Group Inc.

How to Run A Fire Ops Mark McKinnon – IAFF Partnership Education Program

Goldblatt & Partners – Legal Update

Howard Goldblatt

• Brother Barry Quinn Basic Bargaining Course ➢ Peter Kennedy, Ottawa

• WSIB – Return To Work ➢ Dan Bonnar, Ajax

• Union Stewardship & the OPFFA ➢ John Sobey, Ottawa

• Advanced Grievance ➢ Neil DeLory, Pickering

Last year’s Dr. Eric G. Taylor Spring Labour Education seminar was held from April 8th to April 12th, 2018, at the Marriot Gateway Hotel in Niagara Falls with 182 participants. All participants were in General Session for the Monday and Thursday, at which time they heard from a number of speakers, who covered a wide variety of topics. They also were able to choose from one of five courses available for our sessions on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Courses

• General Session Issues – which consisted of

Provincial Election Strategy: Rob Hyndman, President Mark Train, Executive Vice President IAFF SMART Portal Overview Joe Fender, IAFF BCPFFA Burn Fund

Gord Ditchburn, President BCPFFA

IAFF Canadian Office Update: Scott Marks, IAFF Assistant to the General President, Canadian Operations Fred LeBlanc, IAFF 13th District Vice President

Political Action – OPFFA Digital Strategy (Via Zoon)

Jack Milroy Mark Train, Executive Vice President

Advocate Panel

Colin Hunter, Moderator Jeff Nester Bob McCutcheon Carmen Santoro Mike Palichick

Update on Bargaining Trends

Jeffrey Sack, Jeffrey Sack Law

OPFFA Legislative Update Mark Train, Executive Vice President


Heather Ann McConnell

WFI Presentation Luke Pedersen


Mark Wright

2018 Staffing, Municipal Budget Campaign Toronto Fire Frank Ramagnano, TPFFA President Matt Pegg, Fire Chief Toronto Fire Jim Jessop, Deputy Fire Chief Toronto Fire

FPPA Regulations Update

Rob Hyndman, President Frank Ramagnano, TPFFA President Kevin McCarthy, TPFFA Vice President Jim Jessop, Deputy Fire Chief Toronto Fire

• Brother Barry Quinn Advanced Bargaining Course ➢ Peter Kennedy, Ottawa

• WSIB – Level 1 ➢ Dan Bonnar, Ajax

• Union Stewardship & the OPFFA ➢ John Sobey, Ottawa

• Grievance – Level 1 ➢ Neil DeLory, Pickering

In conclusion, I would be remiss if I did not extend my thanks to the members of the OPFFA Executive Board for their continued assistance and guidance. Respectively submitted, Greg Horton Chair, Education Committee Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association


EMS Committee 2018 Convention Report

June 2017 – May 2018

To all Officers and Delegates attending the 21st Annual Convention of the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association at Blue Mountain Resort; June 4th to 6th 2018. On behalf of the Committee, I am submitting the following report: Dear Brothers & Sisters; Your committee for the past year has been: Executive Liaison: Mark Train Chair: Ken Webb Members: Mark Ewing Jamie Kallio As the report for the 2016-17 Committee was submitted in mid-April 2017, this report will cover mid-April 2017 through mid-April 2018. Committee efforts for this period:

1. Saw work continuing on the Fire Fighter- Paramedic (FF-PCP) ask, 2. Advocating for naloxone to be part of the treatment options for fire fighters called upon to

manage care of the suspected opioid overdose patient, 3. Support provided to locals seeking guidance on strategies to expand scope of practice, 4. Support provide to locals regarding Designated Officer questions (fire fighter exposures at

medical calls) 5. Active participation in the Ministry of Health’s Opioid Emergency Task Force 6. Support provided in response to CLC query about OPFFA seeking expansion of Fire Fighter

scope of practice up to fire fighter-paramedic

The Fire Fighter Paramedic file The later part of April 2017 through early June 2017 saw the committee gathering information to support the Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) projection/modeling project. Efforts included gathering of information via FOIs where EMS provider specific information was needed. Bothers Kallio was quite successful at gathering valuable information about the Niagara Region Paramedic service and Brother Ewing was instrumental at gathering information related to base hospital oversight through his relationships with CPER. Detailed information about equipment and consumables were gathered to assist with costing for the fire fighter-paramedic proposal. The OPFFA Convention in June 2017 saw Premier Wynne and Minister Hoskins speak to the delegates to announce the government would be proceeding with legislation to allow fire fighters trained as paramedics to practice paramedicine while working as a fire fighter. September through early November provided feedback and information as required for development of

the Fire Fighter-Paramedic ‘ask’ for the legislative conference.

On December 12, 2017, Bill 160, Strengthening Quality and Accountability for Patients Act, 2017 attained Royal Assent. As recommended by the OPFFA, the Bill made some changes that included patient diversion strategies. The Bill fell short of the enabling legislation to allow fire fighters trained as paramedics to practice paramedicine while working as a fire fighter. The legislation did announce two pilot sites would be announced to trial the FF-PCP concept. Hyndman, Train and Webb attended the MOHTLC-EHSB Enhancing Emergency Services In Ontario (EESO) meeting on January 25th, 2018. The group conducting the session will be holding/has had similar sessions with a number of stakeholders. The morning of January 24th, they met with CUPE. They have met with OAFC and OAPC and they will meet with the Ontario Base Hospital Group (OBHG) the week of January 29th. The initial focus of the fire fighter-paramedic call/patient types appears to be low acuity patients where there may be opportunities for patient diversion away from the ER to other patient supports. A Community Paramedicine approach may be a possibility. The high acuity call types will remain part of the tiered response protocol. Next steps will include an OPFFA/OAFC meeting with the EESO group. The proposed time frame for the process is: - January/February - continue 'kick-off' sessions and hold follow-up/joint stakeholder meetings - March - model design development for presentation to AMO - AMO presentation of site criteria to municipalities - April through to election - selection of sites and finalization of site agreements The Opioid Emergency Participation The spring of 2017 saw an increase in opioid overdoses in the Province of Ontario. Many Locals had

been lobbying their local governments to consider providing their fire fighters with naloxone to be part

of the treatment options for fire fighters called upon to manage care of the suspected opioid overdose

patient. Vaughan and Barrie were some of the early adopters. The EMS Committee was tasked with

reviewing literature, medical directives and best practices for managing the care of these patients. The

committee wrote a position paper on best practices and produced a draft medical directive for

presentation to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services (MC&CS). In mid-June IAFF

DVP Leblanc, President Hyndman, VP Train and EMS Chair Webb had an opportunity to meet with

Minister Marie-France Lalonde (Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services – MCCS) on the

merits of providing fire fighters with naloxone as part of the opioid overdose crisis management

strategy.

Between May and the end August 2017, Webb actively participated in weekly Overdose Crisis Meetings

hosted by the South Riverdale Community Health Centre in Toronto. The attendees of these meetings

included people with lived experiences and the support networks (harm reductions centres, etc)

available at that time.

The last weekend in July saw a significant spike in opioid overdoses in Toronto. On August 1st, 2017, the

mayor of Toronto announced that fire fighters would be trained in the use of and would carry naloxone.

While at the IAFF Redmond H&S/Barbara EMS Symposium in early August, Hyndman, Train and Webb

were able to attend the (webcast) Opioid Emergency Presentations that included Locals and

Management from Boston and Vancouver speaking to their experiences and lessons learned.

On December 7, 2017, the government of Ontario announced that naloxone would be made available

for fire fighters and police officers.

In late December 2017, Webb was appointed to the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care’s Emergency

Task Force as the only Fire Service representative.

December 2017 through April 2017, provide information to locals about development of programs that

include naloxone as part of the treatment protocol for the suspected opioid overdose patient.

January through April 2018, Ken has participated in three Opioid Emergency Task Force monthly

meetings. The most significant contribution to date has been feedback provided to align the ‘instruction

insert’ for naloxone kits distributed in Ontario with best practices learned by WHO and the Vancouver

experience.

EMS Committee Highlights

Minimum Level Fire Fighter Medical Training The committee discussed revisiting what should be pursued as the ‘standard’ level of medical training for existing fire fighters (FFS), whether or not enabling legislation; concern expressed about not wanting to be seen to reinvent the wheel or create a ‘new standard’. The committee discussed what training already exists as a minimum standard in Ontario and across Canada.

- General discussion that any program used must have: a) a defined curriculum, b) medical oversight, c) quality assurance (that includes continuous quality improvement)

The National Occupational Competencies Profile (NOCP) for paramedicine has already recognized a set of competencies below Primary Care Paramedic (PCP) for first responders known as Emergency Medical Responder (EMR), which includes ‘symptom relief’ in parts of the country. (EMR vs OBHG programs – TFS/Sunnybook Fire Fighter Prehospital Care (FPC) program)

Creation of Membership Information Pieces

Eg. Anaphylaxis treatment

Creation of Communications

Selling the FF-PCP model to AMO, OAFC, OAPC, OPFFA members

2017 Activity

April to June 2017 Teleconferences and e-mail exchanges to gather information for Price

Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) projection/modeling project.

May 31, 2017 Met with President Hyndman, VP Train, and Bobby Walman to review communications/messaging strategies related to the fire fighter-paramedic proposal.

June 5-8, 2017 Attended the OPFFA Convention

June 12, 2017 Attended meeting at MCCS with Leblanc, Hyndman and Train advocating for

naloxone to be part of the treatment options for fire fighters called upon to

manage care of the suspected opioid overdose patient

August 6-10, 2017 Attend IAFF Redmond H&S/Barbara EMS Symposium

Early September

through end of

November

Gathering of information and providing feedback to massage OPFFA ‘Asks’

related to EMS Committee. Multiple phone call and e-mail exchanges

regarding FF-PCP ‘ask’.

November 10, 2017 Ontario Association of Designated Officers meeting

November 21-23,

2017

Attend OPFFA Legislative Conference.

November 22, 2017 OPFFA/TPFFA met with Minister of Health Hoskins

2018 Activity

January 11, 2018 Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Opioid Emergency Task Force

meeting.

January 25, 2018 Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s - Enhancing Emergency Services In

Ontario (EESO) - Firefighter-Paramedic Pilot Consultation - Kick-Off Meeting

February 21, 2018 Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Opioid Emergency Task Force

meeting.

March 27, 2017 Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Opioid Emergency Task Force

meeting.

April 4, 2018 OPFFA EMS Committee meeting

April 11, 2018 OADO Symposium

April 18-20, 2018 E-mail exchanges: supporting Sudbury local expansion of scope of practice

April 19-23, 2018 E-mail exchanges: responding to CLC query about the OPFFA Fire Fighter-

Paramedic position



Respectively submitted,

Ken Webb

EMS Committee Chair



Health & Safety Committee 2018 Convention Report

June 2017 – May 2018

To all Officers and Delegates attending the 21st Annual Convention of the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association at Blue Mountain Resort; June 4th to 6th 2018. On behalf of the Committee, I am submitting the following report: I would like to start by thanking members Dan Worrall from Clarington, Geoff Boisseau from Toronto and Victor Dillabaugh from Ottawa. These members have spent countless hours working on behalf of the OPFFA. I also have to thank our board liaison DVP Osterberg and the entire OPFFA board for the continued support and backing on several issues the committee has been involved with over the past year. Also on behalf of the committee I would personally like to thank the OPFFA office staff who are top notch and help keep this committee running smoothly. Thank you Julie, Kelly and Adam for all you do for this committee and the entire OPFFA membership it doesn’t go unnoticed.

It has been very busy year for the committee at the Section 21 table. As always, the committee continues to push for improvements to firefighter working conditions and Section 21 Guidance Notes. This past year we continued to have regulation 714 updated and improved. This hasn’t been an easy process as some parties around the table don’t really want to have any changes made or additions such as two sets of bunker gear. We could possibly see some NFPA standards change as the current standard numbers listed are outdated. Due to the June election the time for these changes to be addressed at the government level has shrunk and we may not make the timeline required. As reported in last year’s convention report the committee had asked for years to have all guidance notes posted within the MOL website and that request finally started last September. What we didn’t realize that in doing this the process on creating a note and the format would need to be changed. At one point we asked the Ministry to stop the switchover as it wasn’t what we were asking for but it was too late. The process that was started could not be stopped which meant at the time several notes were lost within the system and stuck there for over a year. After several meetings and phone calls the nine missing guidance notes were pushed out to a new format and posted on the MOL website. The remaining 70 or so then needed to be completely overhauled. Overhauling approximately 80 documents was not an easy task but the OPFFA members again took the lead on this project. This committee read and reviewed every guidance note and suggested changes to improving the notes and making it safer for all Ontario Firefighters. This took several pain staking hours, countless emails, phone calls and text messages but we were able to get the work completed. The committee met in January to try and get the work completed in a normal session but we could not complete the work and only complete 3.5 chapters. The next meeting wasn’t scheduled until early summer which wasn’t acceptable to the committee. Myself and the management Co-Chair contacted the Ministers office requesting a fifth meeting for the fiscal year to complete the work we started as it was important to complete all the notes within a timeframe that was more reasonable. This request was granted by the Minister and we met again in February. The remaining 3.5 chapters were amazingly completed in the two-day meeting. This was a task that I didn’t think would get completed but all parties worked extra hours to get this completed. As we all know chapter 6 has more notes then all the other chapters combined so the Ministers Office was very pleased to hear we completed the work in the extra meeting. Currently the notes are in MOL approval and are being released

in batches onto the MOL website. Once they are all completed eventually they will appear on the Ontario.ca website. The OPFFA H&S Committee had another busy year answering questions on decontamination, committee structure and several other issues at the local level. Decontamination is still a very hot topic and needs to be taken very seriously. As we all learned at this year’s H&S seminar the chemicals we are breathing in from off gassing and absorbing into our skin are more dangerous then we have all thought. Keeping dirty bunker gear and equipment out of fire apparatus and living quarters after a fire or emergency call will reduce the risk of becoming sick. These little steps will allow every member to hopefully enjoy a healthy retirement. The Patrick J. DeFazio Health and Safety Seminar was once again held this past February in Toronto. It was a week of education and instruction on several H&S issues. Again, this year we tried hosting the IAFF Peer Fitness Instructors Update but we couldn’t get the required numbers so we may try again next year to put on another full course. We did however hold a successful IAFF Peer Support class which was well received. Mental illness is something that we all need to take seriously and look at helping members in need. We are hoping to hold this course again at next year’s seminar to get even more members trained by the IAFF instructors. Once again, we held the level one and level two H&S certification courses to meet the new requirements. This seminar was one of the best that we have been able to produce in several years and are already in the planning stages for next years. We are looking forward to seeing everyone in our new location at the Sheraton in Niagara Falls the week of March 25, 2019. Our twitter account @OPFFAHealth is growing and currently sits around 1140 followers. We continually post health and safety tips and information so all the followers can read the information and educate themselves. Once again, I would like to thank the board for giving me the privilege of chairing this committee and working on behalf of the OPFFA Membership. I also need to thank the members of my own Local of Timmins IAFF 535 for covering my shifts when I’m away representing the Province and last but not least my family for putting up with my time away and time spent on working on behalf of the members of this great organization. Stay safe and remember to always adapt and overcome whatever faces you! Respectively submitted, John Mavrinac Health and Safety Chair Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association


Human Relations Committee 2018 Convention Report

I respectfully submit the following report in accordance with the Constitution and By- laws of the OPFFA. The committee is comprised of committee members Clive Deonarine (Ajax), and Chair Cassandra Greer (Ottawa). We are fortunate to be represented on the Executive Board by HR Liaison Ann Bryan. During this past year as Chair it has been my distinct privilege to strengthen the relationship with Ann and Clive. As is the mandate of the standing committees, our goal remains to provide specific advice and guidance to our locals and members at large. Since the time of the last report of this committee, our members have been busy ensuring that they have remained committed to creating a climate of understanding and respect for our members. While our committee members work and live far apart and do not have many opportunities for collaboration, it is very evident that our personal commitment in our home locals have allowed us to grow in our understanding of the human relations issues faced within the fire service. By involving ourselves in the activities and education opportunities found close to us, we are confident that we can provide a unique perspective on issues when required. During the Buddy Mass/ ALTS conference in early 2018, there were opportunities to review in caucus groups some issues facing diverse groups of our members of the IAFF at large. The application of our legislative rights in response to individual or systemic issues remains a complicated and complex issue. Examining why our members will remain silent or choose to deal with issues alone until there is a breaking point continues to motivate the work of this committee. Engaging our members in conversations where injustices have occurred and finding solutions for those individuals to maintain their dignity is the bulk of the work of our committee members. We continue to collaborate with the education committee to ensure that we are formatting education in the Human Relations area that will serve the needs of Ontario fire fighters. We are very hopeful that this course will be offered soon and will combine resources from the IAFF, Ontario Human Rights Code and the Ontario Human Rights Commission. While the materials need to be formatted and professionals retained for specific areas, we know that we have a key role to play in assisting with this educational component. Engagement with groups of fire fighters striving for equal treatment for all is of great value to our committee members. Most notably, our interactions with Fire Service Women of Ontario has been positive. The ability to represent the perspective of a unionized membership within the discussions at the yearly conference has proven to be of great value to both that organization and to ours. We are seeking out other diverse groups of fire fighters who may wish to speak to us at the provincial level and are open to any information that anyone may think would be of value to this committee. Also of interest is the call to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Committee for organizational reconciliation. We understand that this is a highly emotional and sometimes polarizing topic. We have

begun to see our employers implement recommendations or initiate their own programs. Our committee will endeavour to establish resources and education so that we can assist with conversations. In conclusion, I would like to thank President Hyndman for his assistance and trust during my time as chairperson. The invaluable advice and direction have been sincerely appreciated. I would like to also thank the OPFFA office staff who have been very patient and supportive with administrative and technical support. Their professionalism and understanding have been a great help. Respectively submitted on behalf of the dedicated committee members, Cassandra Greer Human Relations Committee Chair Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association

Legislative Committee Report - Mark Train, April 2018 Page 1 of 3

2017 - 2018 Legislative Committee Report Mark Train Executive Vice President & Committee Chair

________________________________________________________________ OPFFA Sisters and Brothers, The OPFFA legislative agenda is a mainstay of our organization. From our collective legislative efforts come the avenues we must pursue to protect and enhance our service to the public, our stake and our profession. Outside of the timeframes of our formal legislative conference, the agenda and all other legislative items are pursued virtually daily for the remainder of the year primarily by the OPFFA principal officers. In the past year, the OPFFA Legislative Committee has been comprised of the members of the Executive Committee and Brother John Sobey (L162 Ottawa). By constitution, the Executive Vice President chairs this committee. Building on our great success in moving items forward in 2016 and 2017 we have had a busy year. Principal officers and others were involved in a large amount of government committee work because of our collective lobbying efforts. This year has also brought about what will be a highly contested, very public election. At this point, this report will cover very little on the topic as we are about 7 weeks out and the ‘fun’ has not yet fully begun. Regulations for Ontario Fire Services Primarily the most aggressive focus and government relations work resulting from OPFFA activities has been in the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services Fire Safety Technical Table. Representatives from the OPFFA attended every meeting of this committee and have been a highly respected and integral part of bringing regulations to Ontario’s fire services. The table has shown us many sides of the other stakeholders in Ontario’s fire Service; there have been upstanding individuals including stake holders, OFMEM and Ministry staff and some organizations that do not speak on behalf of their members or are single minded and single focused. A few have demonstrated their lack of integrity altogether, unable to control messaging from their constituents and members, some even turning their backs to acts akin to sabotage and using delay tactics in a hope of leaving the regulations dead in the water. Arguably, without the persistent work of President Hyndman and the OPFFA, the regulations would have died long ago. At the time of writing this report, the regulations are slated for approval by the Minister however are not yet signed. Fire Fighters providing Enhanced Emergency Medical Response Secondary to the FSTT, Bill 160, Strengthening Quality and Accountability for Patients Act, 2017– changes to Ontario’s health care system, were heavily lobbied by locals during our legislative conference and by the Legislative Committee of the OPFFA. Unfortunately, we won none of the language we sought except


for permissive language for the Minister of Health and Long Term Care to implement fire fighter paramedic test sites. In time, we hope the government will realize that without our amendments, small locals will not be able to enhance their service delivery to their community by adding the capacity of paramedic fire fighters. The positive impact that could be had for Ontarians who live in smaller, semi-remote towns is enormous. We will continue to advocate for this. On the positive side, we do have a go-ahead for establishing the two pilot sites and have started into committee meetings with the EESO (Enhancing Emergency Services in Ontario) committee to set the parameters for them. As with the technical table, we are fought by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) at every turn. There has been a slow-down in the forward movement of this file for the last several weeks, we are confident this is solely due to election matters and we look forward to kicking it back up in the summer months. Fair Workplaces – The Impact on Us Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act 2017, was a piece of legislation that was not a part of our legislative agenda however has created a buzz within all our locals. There are many changes to the employment standards act that could affect individual locals’ rights and benefits around various leaves of absence that are contained in it. To help, the OPFFA sought a legal opinion from Goldblatt Partners that overwhelmingly articulated that each piece of this is highly dependent on the individual collective agreement and practices in the local. As such, it is not possible for us to provide sound policy advice with regards to this. What we have provided for is a tracking file for local’s who can report grievances/disputes/resolves (in a summary fashion) for Bill 148 matters so they can be shared and viewed by other locals. It is hopeful that in this way ,shared experiences can lessen any workload or begin to set some consistent argument to be successful in any disputes arising from this. As indicated previously please send these to your DVP, the Secretary Treasurer and the Communications and Research Director. PROPAC PROPAC remains the OPFFA’s dedicated account for political activity funds. These funds are used for consultants, education of our politicians and bureaucrats, and general lobby efforts throughout the year. In the past, hard money from members could be utilized as campaign donations but this is no longer permitted. What PROPAC provides today is the infrastructure for the OPFFA to connect with likeminded individuals in the public on issues that affect fire fighters and the community. With this connection, we build a public membership base to which we can communicate issues and ask for support. In the past several months we have done this with petitions, letters to MPP’s and general letters of engagement that build this following. Continued funding of PROPAC by membership dues is critical as we conclude this provincial election and as we deal with the next session of the legislature. At this point in time it is plausible that we will need to engage with and educate new cabinet ministers and bureaucrats on our goals as professional fire fighters in Ontario, this all takes money. At a membership level, we will continue to run events to encourage our members to give individual donations to political parties and recognize those donations. Although unable to donate money as an organization we can facilitate donations and be recognized as doing such. And as always we will accept contributions into the general PROPAC account. Thank you for your continued support of PROPAC.


The 2018 election is right around the corner. You, our local leaders, are well versed in rallying fire fighters to demonstrate their involvement in provincial political matters by helping supportive candidates. Our efforts to date have been to prepare and release a candidate survey for locals to utilize and to educate locals on the very restrictive election campaign/financing rules. Last report I included the following:

Here is a quick summary of the changes made in Bill 2, the Elections Financing Statute Law Amendment Act 2016.

▪ Unions cannot make financial contributions to candidates or parties, period. ▪ Corporations cannot make financial contributions to candidates or parties. ▪ Unions and Corporations are not specifically named but are covered under new

language “Organizations and entities”; even more restrictive. ▪ ‘Contribution’ does not include voluntary work by an individual but does include

paid employees being re-assigned to a campaign on work hours. ▪ Contributions include financial and in-kind support, such as advertising issues that

can be aligned with one candidate or party. ▪ Third party election advertising is reduced and includes more strict measures. ▪ Individual financial contribution limits are reduced.

Because the new rules have never been challenged and charges will be brought about as a result of complaints (likely after the fact), we do not want to jeopardize our locals by encouraging any activities that may be outside of the new laws. Next steps will be to continue articulate what locals can and cannot engage in to remain within the rules. A sincere thanks to the entire Executive Committee, Legislative Committee member John Sobey and staff Adam, Kelly and Julie, for their assistance with the legislative agenda of the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association this past year. I look forward to successes and challenges that we will face in the coming year. Everything we do in the Ontario fire service is governed by legislation or a legislator in some way shape or form; it is imperative we keep our finger on the pulse of provincial and all levels of politics. Thank you for your past and continued support of our legislative agenda. In solidarity, we stand strong. Respectfully submitted, Mark Train Executive Vice President Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association


Occupational Disease Committee 2018 Convention Report

June 2017 – May 2018

To all Officers and Delegates attending the 21st Annual Convention of the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association at Blue Mountain Resort; June 4th to 6th 2018. On behalf of the Committee, I am submitting the following report: Dear Brothers & Sisters; I can’t believe another year has passed by. The committee continues to be very busy with cancer intakes and finishing up with the skin cancer claims. Recently 3 more cancers have been added to our presumptive list, Cervical, Ovarian, and Penial. We will start dealing with these cancers in the near future. There is a number of issues that we continue to deal with at the WSIB such as staffing, adjudication process, and lack of services for approved claims. I am seeing some changes that look well for the future. It continues to be a grind but it is so important for our injured workers. It is very hard to find educational opportunities for our committee. I was fortunate to attend the IAFF Cancer Summit on February 1. It was excellent and I have been providing information since the summit to our local members. There have been a few webinars that we have been able to do and they have provided some incite on a number of illnesses that we are dealing with. The committee has seen a very significant change. Andrew Lee resigned from the committee effective January 31, 2018. We are going to continue with running with 1 chair. Andrew was a tremendous asset to our committee and the organization. His dedication and work ethic was excellent. He is missed and the entire committee is dividing up his work load. I would like to thank Andrew for all his help with injured workers over the last number of years. I have personally worked with Andrew for the past 6 years and I have leaned a lot from him and so has our committee members. We wish him all the best in the future. Rob, Nathan, and Moira continue to improve on their advocacy work. Their workloads have increased over the last year and are doing fantastic work. Over the last year we continue to improve the WSIB repository. It continues to be very time consuming, but it is so important to have accurate data when dealing with the WSIB and the Government. With the changes in the software it has been much easier for the committee to be able to upload from their personal computers. Currently we are in the middle of the 3 breast cancer Tribunals that have been in the works for three years. The first Tribunal has already taken place and the other 2 are being heard the first week of May 2018. There has been a lot of work done by our committee and have had a number of active members from Toronto be witnesses. This is a very important batch appeal as the employer side is trying to break the presumption for these firefighter communication operators. There are 2 more Tribunals that are in scheduling in the fall. It is currently taking 2 years to have an ARO appeal hearing and another 2 to 3 years for a Tribunal. There are a number of other appeals and tribunals in the works currently. In the last two months this is the area that I have been focussing on and allowing the committee to work on the claim work.

As always, we would like to thank the locals for allowing us to assist their active, retired and deceased members. We can be contacted at anytime to offer assistance and we will make contact as soon as possible. We would also like to thank President Hyndman as our board liaison for his support over the current term. Thanks to Julie, Kelly and Adam for their assistance with our committee. We have a lot of mail, faxes, and other correspondence that is always dealt with immediately.




Gavin Jacklyn

WSIB Occupational Disease Chair


Pension Committee Report

Over the course of the past year I have been kept busy answering phone calls and emails that come from across the Province. Local Presidents have made inquiries on their members behalf and some members have come directly to me.

I continue to improve my knowledge of our Pension plan and stay abreast of any changes and developments within OMERS. In addition I have made myself available to provide any assistance I can to those that ask.

Brother Frank Ramagnano remains a terrific resource for me and I appreciate his time when I have questions of my own.

An overview of OMERSSource: OMERS website, April 2018

• 482,000 Members• 1,000 employers • $85.2 billion in Net Assets (2016) grew to $95 billion (2017)• Our funded ratio increased to 94%, reflecting improvement for the fifth consecutive year• Our investment return was 11.5%, exceeding our benchmark of 7.3% and our 2016

investment return of 10.3%• Member satisfaction remained high at 92%• Member account balances in the Additional Voluntary Contributions program grew to $817

million

Since the first year of our 2020 Strategy in 2015:• We achieved our objective of reducing the real discount rate, used to calculate our future

pension obligations, by 25 basis points, three years ahead of our 2020 Strategy target• Our investment teams have generated $7.6 billion of net returns above our discount rate• Plan projected to return fully funded by 2025

OMERS is stable, well managed and is well positioned to meet the pension promise for years to come.

I look forward to being available to assist any Locals that require pension assistance for the remainder of my term in this capacity.

Respectfully submitted,

Chris Varcoe


WSIB Committee 2018 Convention Report

June 2017 – May 2018

To all Officers and Delegates attending the 21st Annual Convention of the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association at Blue Mountain Resort; June 4th to 6th 2018. On behalf of the Committee, I am submitting the following report: Dear Brothers & Sisters; The committee has been dealing with numerous claims, questions and inquiries regarding the PTSD presumption for first responders, we have been successful in adjudicating all but a couple of these claims with members returning to full duties after being diagnosed and receiving the treatment necessary to allow a normal life after the injury. This is good news. The committee has also been in direct talks with the Ministry on prevention tactics when it comes to Mental Health in the workplace. The new policy on Chronic Mental Stress has now come into effect and the committee is further reviewing the policy to see how it impacts us as professional firefighters. There has been changes to policy concerning Pre- Existing Conditions and the Committee is reviewing whether any of our members will be impacted or will have their NEL award changed. The Committee taught the Level 4 Return to Work Precis at the Fall Educational Seminar and started back at Level 1 in the Spring with a Level 2 being considered for the Fall. We attended the Lancaster House Symposium on WSIB with various speakers and topics being discussed. We along with members of the OPFFA and IAFF Executive, we also attended the Minister of Labours Summit on PTSD. I would like to extend a huge thank you to DVP Sean Beer for his patience and guidance.

In conclusion, I would be remiss if I did not extend my thanks to the members of the OPFFA Executive Board and the Office Staff Julie, Kelly and Adam for their continued assistance and guidance.


Dan Bonnar

Chair WSIB Committee


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