"Ontario continues to conduct meetings and have roundtable discussions on Mental Health. I worked as a Residential Worker (Child and Youth Worker ) in a custody setting . The Province of Ontario and the Ministry of Labour continue to drag thier feet on this complex issue . Thankfully, other provinces are creating meaningful solutions to this issue." Paul Murphy
paulmurphy@obesitythunderbay.ca
First
responders could be helped6
JACKIE L.
LARSON Edmonton Sun
First
posted: Tuesday, October 30, 2012 09:34 PM MDT | Updated: Wednesday, October
31, 2012 08:38 AM MDT
Firefighters could benefit from
new legislation that would address post traumatic stress disorder. (EDMONTON
SUN/File)
Debate on
new legislation aimed at providing help for traumatized first responders
focused Tuesday on who gets to benefit from it.
Bill 1,
The Workers Compensation Amendment Act, would give first responders
compensation for presumptive Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
"without shouldering the burden of proof."
The act
would make Alberta the first province to provide such coverage to firefighters,
police officers, sheriffs and paramedics — but its preliminary language omits
social workers and corrections officers.
By
lifting the burden of proof from workers, it's a great step for first
responders, but the bill doesn't reach others who witness traumatic events in
the line of duty, said Liberal MLA Dr. David Swann.
"To
begin to set up a two-tiered system around PTSD strikes me as being very
inappropriate and very problematic," Swann said. "It is going to
embarrass us as a government to do this. It will come back to haunt us. It will
create rivalries and antagonisms and hard feelings across our professional
sectors."
Please share.
" Ontario seems to be in the dark regarding mental
health and the WSIB continues to create conflict and confrontation with
regard to benefits. I would encourage anybody that is seeking to work in
the front line service responders sector to get involved and work to promote a
more receptive process."
