A call to extend presumptive cancer coverage to Yukon wildland firefighters has reignited inside and outside the legislature.
The Yukon Employees’ Union (YEU) held a press conference on the morning of April 15, the day before the Yukon government’s planned fire-and-flood briefing for reporters. The union put up YEU president Justin Lemphers and Yukon NDP Leader Kate White alongside a current and a former wildland firefighter.
A year ago, White introduced a motion in the Yukon Legislative Assembly calling on the Yukon government to amend the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Act to include presumptive cancer coverage for wildland firefighters. Over the years, she has asked questions and tabled documents including a letter from the Whitehorse Fire Fighters Association in support of adding wildland firefighters to presumptive cancer coverage.
Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon put forward a motion on the afternoon of April 15, urging the Yukon government to consult the Whitehorse Fire Fighters Association, the Yukon Employees’ Union, the Association of Yukon Fire Chiefs and wildland firefighters regarding making changes to the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Act to make wildland firefighters eligible under the list of presumptive cancers for firefighters.
If a Yukon worker gets diagnosed with one of 19 types of cancers, the cancer may be presumed to be a work-related injury and the worker may be eligible for benefits, as noted on the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Board website. The presumption applies to full-time, part-time or volunteer firefighters but excludes wildland forest firefighters.
After previous seasons of fighting fires in Ontario and British Columbia, Alex Macphail told press conference attendees that he’s entering his third season as a Yukon wildland fire officer.
“The days end with soot ground into your pores, smoke in your lungs and black snot coming out into Kleenex," Macphail said.
“There's no avoiding the constant exposure to smoke, particulate and soot, all which are cancerous and produce negative cardiovascular and respiratory effects. While these chemicals are usually less concentrated than those produced by structure fires, the exposure is continuous throughout the season, and personal protective equipment is limited."
Macphail suggested some people joke about the lack of presumptive coverage for Yukon wildland firefighters with a “morbid fatalism” given some other Canadian jurisdictions do offer presumptive coverage for wildland firefighters.
During the press conference, the NDP leader said it’s “shameful” that the Yukon hasn’t followed suit with those places that have presumptive cancer coverage for wildland firefighters.
“When the Yukon had the opportunity to extend presumptive cancer coverage to wildland firefighters, as additional cancers were being legislated for structural firefighters, the Liberal government chose not to,” White said.
“When I was working with wildland firefighters' unions and others across the country trying to get coverage for wildland firefighters, Richard Mostyn, the minister of Community Services, was actively lobbying the business community to write letters against this change.”
During the government’s briefing on April 16, when asked by reporters if his stance had changed on the research around wildland firefighting and cancer, Mostyn, who previously worked for the workers’ compensation board, said he takes workplace health and safety matters “very seriously.”
“When we brought in the new legislation in 2022, we had the most expansive list of presumptions for firefighters and for employees in the country,” Mostyn said.
“I'm not averse to having a presumption for cancers that are commonly seen in professions. The issue is that we have a presumption. People who make use of a presumption are already sick. And the goal, my goal, is to make sure people don't get sick. In some ways, a presumption is just an admission of failure.”
While Mostyn reiterated he doesn’t want people getting hurt at work, he pointed to more work needed on the connection between wildland firefighting in the Yukon and cancer. He said Yukon wildland firefighters aren’t fighting urban interface fires or structure fires involving synthetic materials like wildland firefighters do in other jurisdictions, thus they are exposed to different hazards here.
“I want to know what the dangers are for exposure to carcinogens in a boreal forest, and we are continuing to look at those, at that research,” he said.
Mostyn highlighted the importance of prevention.
“I want to prevent any cancers that people are exposed to in the woods, and I want to make sure that they are protected that way,” he said.
During the media briefing on floods and fires, Yukon Wildland Fire Management chief meteorologist Mike Smith had nothing of real concern to report so far.
Like he did at the previous briefing a couple of weeks ago, he said there’s a “low fire danger” to start the season. One fire that overwintered at Wellesley Lake and is still smouldering is being monitored, per Smith.
On the flood front, a new “ice advisory” launched on the Yukon government’s flood hub this year.
Water resources hydrologist Emilie-Jeanne Bercier said the main concerns for flooding potential are ice jamming or breakup flooding at Old Crow and freshet flooding in the Klondike.
The Yukon’s seasonal flood potential forecast, as of April 15, cautions of a moderate risk of flooding at Old Crow. Bercier elaborated that Old Crow has a moderate potential of ice jam flood risk due to the thicker-than-average, mostly snow-covered ice.
Bercier said the mostly average snowpack seen across the territory brings some relief.
However: “The past four years are certainly a reminder of how sensitive our watersheds and communities are to flooding based on snowpack and a slew of different spring weather factors,” Bercier said.
Greg Blackjack, director of the Yukon government’s Emergency Measures Organization, said the organization has been working with the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation over the winter on planning and preparedness for this potential flood season.
“If sudden or severe flooding is expected that information will be released as soon as possible, as far in advance as possible, on local platforms and Alert Ready to give people as much notice as possible to stay safe and to keep their properties safe,” he said.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
