Public Safety Committee on May 12th, 2016

[The Chair (Mr. Robert Oliphant (Don Valley West, Lib.)), Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I'm calling the meeting to order.

This is our 16th meeting of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. I want to welcome our guests, our witnesses, here. Thank you for taking the time.

Just before we begin with the witnesses, you will have noticed that the clerk has sent a notice regarding supplementary estimates (A). Because we couldn't do the scheduling for the minister to come on the mains, I have requested that the minister make himself available for the supplementary estimates. I'm just looking at the opposition and for everyone to know that he's available probably June 2 or June 9. I'm going to be suggesting he come on June 2 for that meeting, and that gives time for us to prepare for the minister's appearance. He's very anxious, of course, to come. I just wanted to let the committee know that he would be appearing there and obviously there can be a full range of questions because almost everything gets related to those things. I'm sure that makes you happy.

We welcome Mr. Vaughan, Ms. Jolibois, and Mr. Gourde.

Thank you for being with us today.

Welcome to our study. Just so you know, we've been looking at post-traumatic stress disorder and operational stress injury and how it affects emergency responders, first responders, and particularly federal emergency safety officers. We have been looking at whether or not we can make some recommendations to the Government of Canada regarding how we can improve the health and safety of those Canadians who keep us safe. It necessarily also has some implications for people not under federal jurisdiction so we have other guests as well trying to get a handle on this important issue.

We have two guests with us today. We have Mr. Boissonneault, who comes from Brant County but he is also from the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, the national organization; and Scott Marks, who comes from the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Mr. Boissonneault, you have 10 minutes, then Mr. Marks has 10 minutes, and then we'll have a round of questioning before we have the correctional officers come in.

Welcome, thank you.

[Paul Boissonneault, President, Fire Chief, County of Brant Fire Department, Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs]

Mr. Chair, esteemed members of the committee, I want to thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today and to address the issue of critical importance.

My name is Pierre Boissonneault. I am the fire chief for the Country of Brant, Ontario, and the president of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs.

Founded in 1909, the CAFC is an independent not-for-profit organization representing approximately 3,500 fire departments across Canada. As the voice of fire services in Canada, the CAFC promotes the highest standard of public safety in an ever-changing and increasingly complex world. The CAFC acts as a national public service association dedicated to reducing loss of life and property from fire. Our vision statement is “uniting Canada's fire service leaders”, and our mission statement is “connecting Canada's provincial/territorial allied associations and external stakeholders for the advancement of public and firefighter safety”.

Firefighting is a physically demanding occupation, as is widely accepted, but greater attention to mental and emotional stresses of the role is needed. There is currently no national-level plan in place to support public safety officers coping with the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and other operational stress injuries.

In his mandate letter to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the Prime Minister listed the following among top priorities:

Work with provinces and territories and the Minister of Health to develop a coordinated national action plan on post-traumatic stress disorder, which disproportionately affects public safety officers.

With a view to fulfilling his mandate, Minister Goodale organized a national round table for PTSD that took place on January 29, 2016, at the University of Regina. The full-day event was chaired by Michel Picard, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and brought together academics from across this country, representatives from various levels of government, as well as leadership from organizations representing first responders and emergency workers.

Addressing participants via video message, the minister said:

Over the years, I have heard repeatedly from the public safety community that more needs to be done for those suffering from PTSD. We routinely ask public safety officers to stand in harm’s way to protect and keep Canadians safe, and for that, they deserve the highest level of support and care. I am sorry to have missed today’s round table, but I look forward to hearing the outcomes of the conversation. A national action plan on PTSD will not only support the health and well-being of the public safety community, but will also contribute to the safety of Canada.

The CAFC commends Minister Goodale's commitment to this very important initiative as we face a number of challenges on the path to ensuring mental health and wellness for all our public safety officers from across this country.

Dr. Nick Carleton of the University of Regina, who has spoken before this committee in recent months, highlighted the difficulty in calculating the rate of first responders who will develop PTSD due to the stigma associated with mental illness. Nevertheless, he stated that the figure could be as high as 35%. Culturally, there is a discomfort in addressing mental health issues that stems from a lack of understanding, and it fosters cynicism about an illness that can be associated with poor behaviour or declining performance.

Further to this, more than half of those with mental health problems will not seek treatment. Among firefighters, the stigma of mental illness acts as a barrier, preventing individuals from making use of mental health services. They fear negative impacts on their careers and lack the knowledge of how to access services that are available to them. We must work quickly to alter this perception. According to the The Tema Conter Memorial Trust, 16 first responders have died by suicide so far this year, in addition to the 39 suicide deaths in 2015.

Another challenge lies in the composition of the fire services in Canada. In addition to full-time departments, there are also composite and volunteer departments, each of which presents a unique set of challenges. As one would imagine, volunteer departments may lack the resources to properly administer support programs, and a lack of personnel rules out peer support in many instances. That being said, the provision of a mental wellness program could be a key incentive for recruitment and retention.

In order to address these challenges, the CAFC has partnered with other organizations that are working toward the same objectives.

In September of last year, we launched the mental wellness road map initiative in collaboration with the International Association of Fire Fighters, the Mental Health Commission of Canada, and the University of Regina. Working with key stakeholders, this long-term initiative hopes to identify the tools required to support the fire service in recognition, prevention, intervention, and treatment of mental health issues facing firefighters across this country.

These initiatives alone are not enough. Funding is required for research on mental health issues among firefighters, to improve the capacity of the fire service and health professionals, to quantify their prevalence, and properly guide diagnosis and treatment efforts. Educational programs that improve mental health resilience and literacy, and provide the skills and knowledge to help firefighters better manage potential or developing mental health problems in themselves or a colleague, is especially important in addressing these barriers.

Appropriate training programs and supports to prepare firefighters to effectively address their mental health needs need to be developed, implemented, and funded on an ongoing basis. PTSD should be officially recognized by provinces as a workplace hazard for firefighters to ensure that they are able to access workplace insurance coverage. We need to continue to work on our coordinated national action plan on PTSD, collaborating with the provinces and territories to establish consistent practices across this country in assessment of mental health as part of recruitment; to recognize the role of mental health in overall wellness; and to recognize the importance of an investment in mental wellness support for firefighters in education, training, and support programs to current and former fire service personnel and their families.

As the fires rage in Fort McMurray, the eyes of the nation are upon our brothers and sisters who unflinchingly head towards the flames, combatting the spread in the interest of public safety. In extreme heat, through thick smoke, their unwavering commitment propels them onward in an area where all others have been evacuated.

Day and night, this nation's public safety officers stand tall in the face of danger, in order to protect their friends, families, and members of their communities. Surely, the latter individuals must want to protect these brave men and women from the dangers that they are not equipped to overcome.

On behalf of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, I thank you for the opportunity to be consulted during this study and to speak before this very committee.

I look forward to answering any questions you may have.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you very much, Mr. Boissonneault.

Mr. Marks.

Go ahead, please.

[Scott Marks, Assistant to the General President, Canadian Operations, International Association of Fire Fighters]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I am honoured to have the opportunity to share with the committee our views on this timely and important subject.

By way of background, the International Association of Fire Fighters represents more than 23,000 full-time professional firefighters in Canada. We are first on the scene in virtually any emergency, whether it's a structural fire, a highway accident, a serious medical call, a hazardous materials incident, or any other emergency. As I speak, many of our members are tackling the devastating wildfires in Fort McMurray and the surrounding areas.

It's well-known that firefighting is a dangerous and physically demanding occupation and that firefighters suffer high rates of workplace injury and illness. Less known are the mental demands of the occupation, including the effects of being regularly exposed to scenes and images that anyone would find disturbing and difficult to see.

For too long, post-traumatic stress disorder has been a hidden secret amongst firefighters and other first responders. Haunted by the effects of the job, but feeling the stigma of appearing weak and unwell in front of our shift mates and our families' and society's expectations, too few firefighters struggling with the mental health implications of our profession have reached out for help. Too often, firefighters have turned to alcohol and other drugs to deal with their difficulties, with marriages and other relationships crumbling under the strain. In many cases, fear of the financial implications of stepping away from a career becomes another reason to stay silent.

Tragically, PTSD has claimed the lives of numerous firefighters across Canada who succumbed to dark thoughts they could not shake and committed suicide. Last year our affiliate in Surrey, British Columbia, IAFF Local 1271, experienced the pain of two members' suicides in a seven-week period. As Chief Boissonneault mentioned, the Tema Conter Memorial Trust tells us we have lost 16 first responders so far this year to suicide in Canada. It's a sad and shocking number.

There's no specific time frame for PTSD, which can manifest itself at any time. Given the nature of our profession, firefighters are vulnerable to or more susceptible to PTSD, as we are repeatedly subjected to traumatic circumstances within the communities in which we live. While statistics surrounding PTSD and first responders are limited, it has been said that up to 15% to 20% of firefighters suffer from PTSD.

We must also be aware of the potential cost implications of PTSD. According to Dr. Suzy Gulliver, a professor at Texas A&M University, PTSD can be 100% disabling. Every trained firefighter taken out of service by PTSD costs the community, not only in training expenses but in an immeasurable loss of knowledge and experience.

We must try to avoid PTSD from developing into a chronic, disabling condition. Recently, there's been growing awareness of PTSD in firefighting and a growing willingness among firefighters to acknowledge that they are potentially affected by PTSD and to ask for help.

At the same time, there is growing acceptance that PTSD is a direct result of certain professions, including firefighting. In 2012, British Columbia and Alberta became the first Canadian provinces to formally recognize the mental health aspects of being a member of emergency services personnel, with legislation deeming PTSD to be presumed the result of a firefighter's occupation for purposes of workers' compensation. Since then, Manitoba and most recently Ontario have added this important protection, enabling first responders to obtain faster access to treatment.

If we're going to address mental health and PTSD in the first responder community, we'd better know the exact scope of the problem and what we're up against. That's why we've called on the federal government to establish a national action plan for post-traumatic stress disorder, and we applaud the government and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness for the steps they have already taken in this direction.

We recommend that the plan consist of five key elements—best practices, research, education, awareness, and treatment—and that the plan become a framework for an effective and all-encompassing PTSD tool kit that can be used as a resource by any first responder agency or individual who needs it.

PTSD can be preventable with early diagnosis and proper treatment. Evidence-based research and the evaluation of best practices can help facilitate how first responders can be educated to identify and treat PTSD. We need to change how not only our first responders but also their family members, employers, and health care professionals learn about PTSD, as education is a key to prevention. Education and awareness also help with stigma reduction.

The federal government was quick to act on its commitment to develop a national action plan.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale initiated the round table conference on PTSD for first responders in January in Regina. It was extremely successful in fleshing out the priorities and gaps in addressing the integral components of the broad plan. To this end, the IAFF is currently collaborating with the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, the Canadian Mental Health Commission, and the University of Regina on building a mental wellness plan for firefighters. IAFF is also participating in a tri-services working group, hosted by the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, to support the development of a national action plan. We are pleased to see the action being taken on this important issue, and we welcome the opportunity to assist in developing a coordinated plan to effectively address PTSD in first responders.

Thank you, and I'm happy to answer any questions from the committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you very much for your efficiency, both of you, in your remarks.

We have a seven-minute round with four questioners for seven minutes each.

Ms. Damoff.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Thank you both for being here and also for all your efforts on this. I know you've both spent a lot of time and energy trying to work with our firefighters and ensure their mental health is what it needs to be. I'm deeply troubled to hear about the suicides. We've heard that from corrections. For a department to lose two individuals in seven weeks is tragic, and I'm sure that compounds the issues for the other individuals in that group.

One of the things I wanted to touch on—because I know from talking to people at Oakville Fire that they're incorporating a number of strategies to deal with PTSD and OSI—was R2MR, but also peer-to-peer support. We had one witness who said if we can start getting people comfortable with talking about these things when they're in their most macho kind of environment, then we can find ways of transitioning that into help-seeking behaviour. One of the Oakville firefighters said that once he came out and said these were his issues, he was literally followed out the room by other people who wanted to talk to him. How can the federal government help foster a change in the culture and encourage more of that peer-to-peer support within the organizations?

Either of you can answer.

[Scott Marks]

What the federal government is doing to date is beginning to reduce the stigma and foster that type of relationship. One of the keys to this moving forward, and certainly what we've asked for at the federal level, is to have that all-encompassing plan. We know that, as this moves forward, a lot of the responsibility is going to be borne out at the provincial level within the workers' compensation boards to develop and maintain both a preventative component and a treatment component. I think the key role for the federal government is to establish that overall position on what needs to be occurring through best practices, so that provincially we have a plan that's rolled out comprehensively and consistently to firefighters across the country. Let's face it, if there are programs up and working in Regina, or Oakville, or wherever, we need a way those programs can be accessed from across the country, and we need to have someone coordinating that access to everyone.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Where do you see that? Do you think we need one location for that to be focused in, or would it be better to have one coordinating location and then regional offices?

[Paul Boissonneault]

I completely agree with what Scott has indicated as well. What I would indicate is there needs to be an advisory group that helps disseminate the information and then provides it nationally in scope. That's where I think the leadership piece for the federal government and all parliamentarians takes place. I think we can look at the successes at the grassroots level on programs that are working and share that information. At the very high level component, all first responders from coast to coast to coast deserve to have the same availabilities provided to them regardless of location, region, or local circumstance.

The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs has very much prided itself as always being an adviser to government and parliamentarians on issues of national interest. I think that's where this leadership piece can certainly live. The collaboration piece has never been stronger within the fire service, the fire chiefs, the union representation, and the willingness from academics, as well as provincial and territorial representation, to find solutions to a very complex issue. You could hear academic testimony from some people who are a lot smarter than I am on these statistics, but to be clear, that's where everything has to come together in leadership for government to play.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

What about in rural settings? It's one thing to talk about larger urban centres, but when you take it outside into smaller communities, both from a financial and a resource perspective it's going to be more challenging. What are your thoughts on that?

[Paul Boissonneault]

The challenge with the fire service in Canada is that there are small full-time departments and there are large full-time departments; there are small volunteer departments consisting of eight or 10 firefighters protecting their community; there are first nations' communities for which again we have provincial legislation that helps drive some of their essentials for establishing and regulating bylaws and the services they provide. But there is such a varying scope.

I think what has to be determined is that this national working group's establishing of some best practice standards, as Mr. Marks has indicated, provides the basis for accessing information for an overall mental wellness road map, saying that regardless of location, “here's a program that could be of assistance, because it has worked in similar-minded areas”, or ”here are best practices that have already been established”—not trying to reinvent the wheel all across Canada, but finding a leadership piece and an advisory role to disseminate.

The CAFC, through our composition, has seven board members, but we are inclusive of all provincial, territorial, and allied associations from across this country that have a seat on our national advisory council.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

I only have a few seconds left. I want you both quickly to respond, because I think I know the answer. I want to get it on the record.

Do you think there's a gap in the data we have, in terms of the research on this issue?

[Scott Marks]

Absolutely. There's a gap in all fire services data. I know the fire chiefs have worked very hard to build a dataset to start to incorporate not only fire statistics, but the health and wellness statistics for firefighters. We certainly have a gap compared with the U.S., in that regard.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Do you track suicides of retired firefighters, or is it just current members? When you give the statistics, do they include retirees?

[Scott Marks]

I don't know that they're captured, to be honest with you.

[Paul Boissonneault]

Specific organizations may capture that data. The challenge is that it's not kept in one location or is not nationally recognized.

We are currently working on a national fire incident database. Those are some of the issues that can be propelled into an evidence-based research that is specific to Canada.

Until the NFID project was introduced there was no national standard for statistics across Canada. They were provincially held.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Mr. O'Toole.

[The Honourable Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Erin O'Toole]

Thank you both for appearing and for your perspective and for your work and the work of the people you represent.

Certainly this study has been helpful in getting viewpoints from a cross-section of people, both from a research standpoint and also from an operational standpoint. When we talk about first responders, we're really talking about the unique nature of these roles, uniformed service leading to operational stress, and about how we can reduce that stress and share information.

I'm going to ask a couple of questions. The first is a difficult one. It builds a bit on my colleague Ms. Damoff's information about data tracking. Part of the challenge I feel we face, and I saw this at Veterans Affairs, is that if there is a suicide related to someone who serves or did serve, privacy and respect obviously surround it, but because of the uniformed service component, there is almost a “bright line” default position that it was because of an operational stress injury. In some cases it's not, but in some cases it is.

How do you feel we should report this in a way that pays respect to family members and to the person who was lost, but how can we make progress? I feel sometimes, and I've said this to folks within the veterans community, that if we don't have an informed dialogue on this it will be hard, because I think the public, who are finally aware of what post-traumatic operational stress is—and we're breaking down stigma.... The next step is to have that informed discussion to say that people who put on a fire service uniform or a military uniform are a cross-section of Canadians. They will also have mental health issues unrelated to operations. They will also have financial, marital—a whole range of stresses that can also contribute.

Do you have any suggestions on this? We want to get help for those who are vulnerable, first off, because suicide is the wrong option. We want people to know there is support out there—peer-based and what have you. Do you have any thoughts on how we could best report and discuss this in a way that helps people and explains to the public that first responders are a cross-section of Canadians?

[Scott Marks]

I think it's a great point. As we've been suggesting, I think the key to this is, number one, breaking down the stigma. The more we talk about it and the more information we get out there, the more likely we are to build and understand specific individuals.

On the broader concept, I think mental health is being recognized, and is going to have to be recognized as part of a person's general wellness and fitness. In the IAFF, we have incorporated a program that was actually developed in conjunction with the International Association of Fire Chiefs, called the wellness and fitness initiative, which we've encouraged our individual departments to take part in.

That was originally conceived as a physical program on nutrition, health, and fitness to make sure firefighters are, obviously, fit for duty. What we're doing with the mental health component now is incorporating that into our WFI, our wellness and fitness initiative, because we see that as being part of that broad component.

As we go forward with the statistics gathering, with the information we're hoping to capture, it would be no different than being able to look at a person's physical health from the day they came on the job to maybe 15 or 20 years later. If a mental health component is part of their hiring process, and part of looking at their general level of fitness, and if that's properly looked after, as a baseline, then we have a much better ability to determine, as their career unfolds, where the stressors are that are causing these kinds of injuries. Again, if there's proper tracking of incidents of where those exposures may have taken place, then it looks after itself.

I think the key is looking at this no differently from how we look at any other fitness of an individual.

[Paul Boissonneault]

I think what we often focus on is the end result. That, of course, is the unfortunate situation where we look at a suicide or loss of life.

While we're looking at some of the five pillars that Mr. Marks mentioned...it's developing that overall strategy and plan. As well as the absolute necessity of dealing with the treatment aspect of those who are either under presumptive legislation and/or defined as “suffering from PTSD”, it's also the bigger picture of education, prevention, and programming that can get to the front end of things.

You talked about educating a cross-section of Canadians. We have to continue to educate people. Social media...and every aspect of media components related to mental illness or occupational stress injury are in numerous places in social media, daily papers. Part of that education in changing the narrative will help deal with understanding that advisory role you're talking about.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Durham, ON]

With the last few minutes, I wanted you to comment on this. When I was minister of Veterans Affairs, we worked with Defence to make sure that large forces had the option of looking at the road to mental readiness and pushing it out. I was glad, when I spoke at the conference of firefighters recently, to hear York had done the training, and a number were looking at adapting it.

My question here, though, is an interesting one. Federal leadership can be shared, given the veterans and military experience, but where does the province fit into this? What I find with national strategies is that if it's just information-sharing and best practices, that's great. What I don't want to see is the province removing itself from the obligation of those who are under their forces, so the municipal and provincial forces in the case of the OPP or municipal fire.... How do you think the federal and provincial government fit together in this national strategy?

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Very quickly, please.

[Paul Boissonneault]

As I was indicating, our national advisory council includes members such as the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs. They work directly with the Province of Ontario developing that PTSD legislation piece. So there's the automatic connection piece that needs to exist there. It's to be mindful of the fact that the legislation for the fire code might be a provincial responsibility, but many people forget that there's still a National Fire Code, as an example, and it's also understanding that there is linkage between the two, and it can't be about pointing fingers and missing each other somewhere in the middle. I believe that same philosophy holds true for mental health.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you.

Ms. Jolibois.