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Published on: 11/20/2008
Last Visited: 11/20/2008
"It should add to our science and our history, and I hope it would aid our claim," Michael Hurley, president of the B.C. Professional Fire Fighters Association, said Wednesday in a phone interview.
Michael Hurley, president of the B.C. Professional Fire Fighters Association.
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Michael Hurley, president of the B.C. Professional Fire Fighters Association.
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Hurley and his fellow firefighters would like to see esophageal cancer and lung cancer in non-smokers added to that list.
Once an illness or condition is added to the list, WorkSafeBC operates on the presumption that the illness arose from the firefighters' occupation.
Rather than the onus being on the firefighter to prove that the cancer was related to his or her job, the onus is placed on WorkSafeBC to prove why a sick firefighter should not be eligible for compensation.
Esophageal cancer is on Ontario's list of firefighting-related illnesses and Hurley said Manitoba is days away from including it.
In B.C., Hurley said the process is underway to have esophageal cancer recognized as an occupational hazard of firefighting.
"We've begun lobbying with the labour minister and they are looking into the science right now," he said.