Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to provide opening comments on Bill 11, An Act to Amend the Workers’ Compensation Act. The proposed amendments allow for the creation of a legislative presumption that firefighters with certain types of cancers are presumed to have developed the cancer from their work.
The presumption for firefighters, full-time, part-time and volunteer, will recognize that firefighters who have certain types of cancers after working as firefighters for specified periods developed those cancers from their work. Seven Canadian jurisdictions currently provide for a legislative presumption for firefighters. Regulations will list the cancers and the required length of employment as a firefighter for the presumption to apply.
Secondly, the proposed amendments allow greater flexibility for appointing qualified individuals to the position of Governance Council chairperson.
The provisions of the current Workers’ Compensation Act limit the term a person can serve on the Governance Council, in any capacity, to a maximum of six years of consecutive service and no term of appointment can be longer than three years. In other words, if a person had served on the Governance Council as a director for a total of four years, the maximum time this person could serve as chairperson is two years.
The proposed amendment will allow the Minister to appoint a director to the Governance Council for a total period not exceeding nine years. The chairperson provides a leadership role; increasing the time limit of service on the Governance Council gives the Minister options to ensure the Governance Council has effective leadership. The bill does not seek to modify term lengths. That is, the Minister can still appoint a director to a maximum term of three years. The proposed amendment allows the Minister to reappoint a director for up to two additional three-year terms.
I would like to thank the standing committee for their input and comments to enhance the bill. I look forward to our discussion today and am prepared to answer any questions the committee may have. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.