Media Advisory: Forest firefighters are sounding alarm on Ford government's negligence: our health and safety matter!

TORONTO, Feb. 23, 2024 /CNW/ - OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick and Local 703 Vice-President and veteran forest firefighter Noah Freedman will join NDP MPPs Lise Vaugeois, Guy Bourgouin and Sol Mamakwa for a press conference at Queen's Park on Monday 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.

Former forest firefighter and cancer survivor Simon Chateauvert will also be available for comment. Simon spent years on the frontlines, battling wildfires, and inhaling carcinogens. He has lost many colleagues to cancer.

Forest firefighters put life and limb on the line to keep us and our communities safe, but they're not even recognized as firefighters. Like urban firefighters, forest firefighters are at a higher risk of cancer and heart disease than other workers. But should they fall sick, forest firefighters are expected to jump through hoops to prove a strong causal link between their exposure and diagnosis.

Monday, February 26, 2024.

Time: 10:00 AM

Location: Queen's Park Media Studio 

Guest Dial-in Numbers: 

Local - Toronto, (+1) 416 764 8658 
Toll Free - North America, (+1) 888 886 7786 

Livestream link:

https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/video/media-studio

Media Availbility:
OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick
OPSEU/SEFPO Local 703 VP and 8-year forest fire veteran Noah Freedman
Former forest firefighter and cancer survivor Simon Chateauvert
MPP Lise Vaugeois
MPP Sol Mamakwa
MPP Guy Bourgouin 

Forest fire workers have been fighting for recognition, appropriate PPE, and workplace compensation for decades. In recent months, they've been campaigning, and garnering significant public support, to fix the crisis in Ontario's Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES). They even met with Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, Graydon Smith, to discuss their demands but unfortunately, he, like the rest of the Ford government, has chosen to ignore them and shut them out.

The Ford government has the power to fix this crisis and protect forest fire workers before the 2024 wildfire season starts. With warmer-than-normal temperatures, that threat is imminent. Instead, they're gambling with workers' safety, and the safety of our communities. If they don't address forest firefighters' health and safety issues soon, the 2024 wildfire season could prove fatal. 

SOURCE Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO)