Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. I appreciate the opportunity to be here today on behalf of the 21,000 men and women of the International Association of Fire Fighters here in Canada.
The IAFF believes that a national public safety officer compensation benefit for the families of fallen firefighters and other public safety workers is long overdue in Canada. It's a matter of dignity for families--a means of ensuring that they don't have to face financial hardship at the same time they're dealing with grief.
What currently exists across Canada is a patchwork of line-of-duty death benefits in each province. A minority of local firefighter unions have been able to negotiate a line-of-duty death benefit at the local level. Of these, only a handful provide an amount of compensation sufficient to assist the surviving family in the long term. Typically, the negotiated benefit is two years' continuation of salary and benefits, which is enough to keep the survivor in the family home for two years. We ask: and then what? Yes, it has happened that a family has had to move out of the family home because of these tragic circumstances, and it will happen again unless some kind of meaningful benefit is established, a national benefit that will apply equally to all Canadian firefighters. The dignity and financial security of a fallen firefighter's family should not depend on the uncertainties of the collective bargaining process, especially at a time when the trend is for employers to attack such benefits and not award them.
I urge you to recommend that the next budget include funding for the public safety officer compensation benefit in Canada. The benefit should apply to firefighters and to other first responders, such as police officers, who are identified under the existing Income Tax Act regulation as members of the public safety occupation.
As a starting point, we propose an indexed benefit in the amount of $300,000 that would be paid directly to the family. It would be paid in addition to any other death benefits that may be available. In the past nine years, an average of 13 IAFF members have died in the line of duty annually and an average of seven police officers. With these figures we can estimate that a national public safety officer compensation benefit of $300,000 would cost the government $6 million annually.
As you consider a benefit of $300,000 for a fallen firefighter's family, I note that the average age of a professional firefighter who was killed on the fire ground in accidents in North America is 43 years of age. If that firefighter had worked until age 60, at an average salary, that's at least $1.3 million in salary that the family would have enjoyed over those 17 years.
I also ask you in your deliberations to recognize the essence of Motion 153 from the 38th session of Parliament. Motion 153 called on the Government of Canada to establish a national line-of-duty death benefit for firefighters. The adoption of this motion by a vote of 161 to 112 was a clear indication that a majority of MPs representing a majority of Canadians believe this benefit should be established.
Canada also needs an office for fire service statistics. Statistics Canada does an excellent job of compiling and reporting comprehensive national crime and justice numbers annually. Similarly, Health Canada tracks diseases such as H1N1 and the West Nile virus, thereby giving local health authorities the information they need to properly protect citizens. For fire protection there is virtually nothing in terms of complete, reliable, and up-to-date national statistics. Currently, the fire data is the responsibility of the provincial authorities. The sad truth is that some provinces are a year behind in statistics and some seem to have given up all together. Someone needs to take charge of this problem and fill the void that exists. We believe there's a clear role for the federal government in this area. In the name of public and firefighters' safety, the IAFF calls on you to recommend funding of the national office for fire service statistics.
In closing, as the Canadian government continues the planning to protect Canadians from the second wave of the H1N1 virus, I wish to emphasize the need to ensure that firefighters are among the first groups to receive the available antivirals and vaccines. Independent risk analyses show that without any precautions, 25% to 30% of firefighters may be unavailable for duty during the height of an influenza pandemic due to illness. Firefighters are part of Canada's critical infrastructure, but a fire department simply cannot provide adequate protection to the public with this level of absenteeism.
Thank you very much for the opportunity, and I welcome any questions you may have.