Ontario’s PTSD Bill 163: Receives Royal Assent
Shannon Bertrand was no stranger to rising above adversity, excelling under pressure, and fighting for what she knew was right. After 20 years as a Paramedic in the city of Toronto, she had experienced her fair share of life-altering moments which required extreme resiliency and strength. But after experiencing a traumatic event in November 2003, Shannon had no idea that over the next thirteen years she would undergo the biggest fight of her life. She was about to brave the challenging world of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
In order for Shannon to recover from her trauma, she required specialized treatment which was very costly, as well as time off work. So in 2006, after not being able to suffer in silence any longer, she fought past tremendous workplace stigma surrounding mental health, and filed a workplace claim seeking the help she needed. Shortly thereafter, her claim was denied. Her illness was deemed ‘not an acute reaction to a life threatening event’. Shannon was devastated.
This raised the question of how a claim related to a first responder’s trauma be denied? For many years, legal and government opinion as to which experiences constituted a 'life threatening event' for a first responder such as Shannon was vague and often subjective. In many instances, proving an individual was eligible for coverage, required suffering individuals to recount traumatic events in extensive detail, potentially re-traumatizing them and prolonging their recovery... and at times causing recovery to never be possible at all; an unequivocal fact as suicide rates among first responders were rising drastically. Shannon knew that this torturous process needed to change, but how?
Tired, but not close to giving up the fight for what she and many colleagues who came before and after her deserved, Shannon decided to make a trip to her local MPP's office asking for help. Luckily for Shannon, the individual she found willing to help was Cheri Dinovo, MPP of Parkdale High Park.Shannon had some knowledge of this MPP's political tenacity, but would learn over the years just how lucky she was to have Cheri in her corner.
Over the next seven years, while Shannon struggled to pay in treatment expenses, MPP Cheri Dinovo rallied for Shannon at Queen's Park with powerful presentation statements such as, “These firefighters, paramedics and police officers are the people we call when we need help, but when they need us, all we can say is: Just keep waiting,”4 and, “When we call 911, we expect first responders to be at our door in minutes. Yet when they need help we wait years to answer their call”5. MPP Dinovo's steadfast personality and commitment to seeing legislation implemented that would save first responders and their family's from the pain Shannon was experiencing, encouraged Shannon to keep her focus on her recovery and quite often her survival.
April 5th 2016: The Legislative Assembly of Ontario
I sat on the edge of my seat in the spectator's gallery of Queen's Park with colleagues from Waterloo, Ottawa and Elgin County hoping and praying Bill 163: The Supporting Ontario's First Responders Bill, would pass.
The consensus as we waited and talked amongst ourselves wearing dress uniforms and #IveGotYourBack apparel, was that we were excited but equally as nervous to hear the Party Leader's decision, as Ontario had been in a 'PTSD Bill' holding pattern for many years. Educated through experience, we had learned quite well about the numerous steps it takes for a Bill to be granted Royal Assent. In fact, before Bill 163, several 'PTSD Bill's' had been presented in the Legislative Assembly, only to have their progress halted permanently for one reason or another. :
So there we were on a chilly April afternoon, with Bill 163 only needing a majority vote to be passed (the furthest any Bill of it’s kind in Ontario had made it). But as the vote took place, I held my breath and the hand of a colleague who had become my friend throughout this fight, one by one, every…single…member of the Liberal, Conservative and New Democratic parties stood up to unanimously vote in favour for the passing of Bill 163: The Supporting Ontario’s First Responders Bill. It was a surreal and amazing feeling.
Bittersweet tears filled the eyes of many that day. Too many lives had been lost and families destroyed while waiting for supportive PTSD legislation to be passed. Too many night terrors, divorces and bankruptcies occurred while heroes waited for treatment and the financial help they desperately needed. Yes we left Queen’s Park that day triumphant, but we also left with heavy hearts as we remembered those who never had the chance to celebrate with us.
Bill 163 – In short
Bill 163 is a joint effort by Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn, and Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Yasir Naqvi, aimed at preventing and mitigating the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among first responders.3
The Bill amends the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 and the Ministry of Labour Act with respect to post traumatic stress disorder.1
The new section (14) in the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 provides that certain workers who are diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder are entitled to benefits under the Act for that disorder if certain conditions are met. The section creates a presumption that post traumatic stress disorder in those workers arises out of and in the course of the workers’ employment, unless the contrary is shown. The Bill sets out procedural and transitional rules governing claims made under the new section.1
The Bill amends the Ministry of Labour Act to allow the Minister to collect information relating to the prevention of post traumatic stress disorder in certain workplaces.1
Alberta and Manitoba have had similar legislation since 2012, and 2016, respectively.
References found at the following URL’s: