October 8, 2014 at 9:00 AM
Emergency Response Workers and their supporters are lobbying Ontario’s
provincial government to support a private members bill that would see a
significant change to Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA).
On a daily basis, emergency responders (paramedics, police officers, and
firefighters) are subjected to traumatic events and situations while caring for
those in critical need. PTSD – post traumatic stress disorder – is not currently
recognized as a workplace-related injury, but the toll on first responders can
be devastating which is why change is needed now.
NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo’s private members' Bill would alter the Workplace Safety
and Insurance Act to include PTSD as a workplace-related injury unless proven
otherwise.
Unifor and the CUPE (Canadian Union of Public employees) are supporting this
bill and ask you to sign the attached petition demanding that PTSD be recognized
as a workplace-related injury and amend the Workers Safety and Insurance Act.
According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, about eight percent of
Canadians have PTSD. That number rises to 10 percent when you factor in soldiers
returning from combat. However, in emergency service workers like paramedics,
fire fighters, nurses and doctors, the number jumps even higher – they are two
times more likely than the average citizen to be affected. A 2012 study on
Ottawa emergency service workers found that paramedics were at the highest risk
of developing PTSD.
Click here to read Bill 2, Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act
(Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), 2014
Blank copies of the petition are available for download here. Completed
petitions should be returned to the Unifor 2002 office as follows:
Unifor 2002 - PTSD petition
7015 Tranmere Drive, Unit 5
Mississauga, ON
L5S 1M2
Deadline to return petitions:
November 21, 2014
For more information, please contact:
Cheryl Robinson, Unifor 2002
President
/14-10-08 PTSD Petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario HTML en.txt
Tags: #PTSD #Petition #WSIA #CheriDiNovo #Bill2 #CherylRobinson