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B.C. further expands cancer coverage for firefighters

Nov. 9, 2022, B.C. – The province is amending the Firefighters’ Occupational Disease Regulation under the Workers Compensation Act (WCA) by adding two cancers – pancreatic and thyroid – to the existing list of cancers and heart diseases that firefighters are at increased risk of developing.

If a firefighter develops one of the listed cancers after a certain period of employment, it is presumed that the cancer arose from their employment. The firefighter will be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits without having to prove the cancer is work-related. For the occupational disease presumptions to apply, a firefighter must have worked the minimum amount of time specified in the regulation for each cancer.

These improvements support government’s priority to ensure workers who become ill or injured on the job face fewer barriers to accessing workers’ compensation benefits and resources.

Professional firefighters and approximately 10,000 volunteer firefighters in B.C. have access to workers’ compensation related to cancer and other occupational diseases.