Journal Pioneer

Tired of waiting

CUPE P.E.I. calling on province to proclaim legislatio­n before the end of the spring session

- BY TERRENCE MCEACHERN

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) P.E.I. is calling on the provincial government to “get moving” and enact a bill to provide added support for workers who have post-traumatic stress disorder.

“We would like to see a resolution to this by the time the house closes the spring session. It’s been going on long enough. People are hurting, and it’s ruining people’s lives and they need some help,” said CUPE P.E.I. president Leonard Crawford at a press conference on Tuesday.

CUPE P.E.I. is referring to Bill 102, which was introduced in the fall by Progressiv­e Conservati­ve MLA Jamie Fox. The bill was unanimousl­y passed in the legislatur­e and received royal assent in December. But the bill to amend the Workers Compensati­on Act was never proclaimed by cabinet. On May 4, the Liberals began debating their own bill (Bill 2) to replace the bill that was already passed.

At the press conference, CUPE P.E.I., along with the P.E.I. Nurses Union and the P.E.I. Federation of Labour, stated they want the original Bill 102 proclaimed into law. “We’re fully behind having some action on this bill,” said Carl Pursey, president of the P.E.I. Federation of Labour. “We thought it was going to happen. But, when they brought this other bill in, they tried to derail the whole process.”

The press conference at CUPE P.E.I.’s Paramount Drive office in Charlottet­own was also attended by first responders and PC Party MLAs.

Jason Woodbury, president of CUPE Local 3324 and fire chief of the Miscouche Fire Department, noted that the new bill should be commended for expanding the scope of coverage, but he criticized the bill for limiting access to services by having only psychiatri­sts and psychologi­sts capable of delivering a PTSD diagnosis. Physicians, which were included in the original bill, are removed from Bill 2. The new bill expands the scope of injuries that may receive compensati­on to trauma- and stress-related disorders in addition to PTSD. Woodbury added that other jurisdicti­ons, such as Alberta and Manitoba, allow physicians to make a PTSD diagnosis in workers compensati­on cases. As well, the proposed coverage presumes the injury is workrelate­d, unless the contrary is proven (so-called presumptiv­e coverage).

After the press conference, Woodbury said that taking physicians out of the equation is problemati­c because of the shortage of psychiatri­sts and psychologi­sts in the province. The waiting list to see those profession­s for urgent cases is 48.8 days minimum with no compensati­on, he said.

“If they went to see a physician, they could possibly get that diagnosis and start immediate coverage through the Workers Compensati­on Act,” he said.

If Bill 102 isn’t passed by the end of the spring session, CUPE P.E.I. is going to launch an informatio­n campaign to make the public aware about the status of the bill and why it is important to Islanders, said Woodbury.

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