The head of the union representing Ottawa firefighters says the city must invest in more mental health support for its members.
“We are at a heightened risk of developing mental health injuries,” said David André, president of Ottawa Professional Fire Fighters’ Association, Local 162. “We believe investment in the form of mental health specialists will pay for itself.”
As a public delegate at Friday’s emergency preparedness and protective services committee, André spoke on behalf of 960 full-time firefighters for the city. He said his association would like Ottawa Fire Services to have a dedicated mental health specialist who could work on prevention by offering resiliency training.
“If the chief says, ‘You know what, we really need this investment,’ then I would be inclined to support it.”
Coun. Riley Brockington
A new hire would help relieve the burden on the training division, made up of 12 individuals, which is “under more pressure every year to deliver more, with the same number of staff,” André said.
In response to Andre’s account, Barrhaven West Coun. David Hill said at the end of the meeting that he plans to put forward a motion to city council to hire a devoted mental health specialist for the fire department.
Committee chair Coun. Riley Brockington, who represents River ward, said he wants to hear more from Ottawa fire, specifically the chief, on the current situation before he would support the motion. “If the chief says, ‘You know what, we really need this investment,’ then I would be inclined to support it,” he said.
The committee heard from three public delegates and city staff before approving its portion of the city’s 2024 draft budget. The committee is currently looking at a $259.4 million budget for 2024, representing a $12.7 million increase from this year. City council will vote to approve the budget on Dec. 6.
The largest planned budget increase overseen by the committee is directed at Ottawa fire, which is setting aside $2.2 million for a new fire station for Kanata North and South March and $4 million for equipment renewal, including a transition to battery-powered equipment where possible.
The city’s paramedic services will get the second largest piece of the pie. It will receive $2.4 million to hire new paramedics and $503,000 for equipment and vehicles, including greener emergency response vehicles.
Though he supported the budget, Brockington didn’t pass up a chance to ask the head of the paramedics about offload time.
The service’s offload delay at local hospitals got worse this year compared to 2022, Chief Pierre Poirier told the committee. “Overall, it’s been a difficult year for us,” the chief said. “Our call volume is up. Our responses are up.”
The city plans to hire 23 new paramedics for each of the next three years. According to Brockington, this is not sufficient to bring down response times, due to paramedics being “stacked up at hospitals” waiting to offload their patients to hospital staff.
He said it’s up to Ontario’s Ministry of Health to increase resources in emergency rooms and hospitals so that paramedics can have a faster turnaround. “I’ve been on council for nine years,” Brockington said, adding “offloading delays has always been an issue.”
He attributed the crux of the issue to the province-wide challenge of having a population that is both increasing and aging. “It’s like a double whammy for us here.”
