Bill M 214: Firefighters' Health Act

This bill primarily affects fire departments, municipal governments, and wildfire management agencies in British Columbia that employ paid full-time firefighters, paid on-call firefighters, volunteer firefighters, and forest firefighters. Fire halls and municipal employers will need to accommodate comprehensive health screening programs including cancer screening, regular physicals, mental health assessments, and lab work for their crews. Smaller rural fire departments relying on volunteers (with 10+ years of service) and BC Wildfire Service operations employing seasonal forest firefighters (with 5+ years of cumulative service) will also be impacted. Employers may face increased costs related to facilitating screening programs and potentially higher workers' compensation premiums if the review of presumptive disease rules expands the list of recognized occupational diseases linked to firefighting.