Fire chief to fight forced retirement
OTTAWA • The now-former fire chief of Renfrew, Ont., is vowing to fight what he argues is an “illegal” termination for simply being too old at 61.
Guy Longtin, chief in Renfrew for 26 years, said Thursday that he and his legal team would decide whether to fight the town’s decision in the courts or the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal.
On Monday night, Renfrew council met in closed session, normal for personnel matters, and emerged to say it had voted to include the chief’s position in a policy to enforce mandatory retirement for all fire personnel at age 60.
According to reports, council cited the provincial Fire Protection and Prevention Act, which mandates a retirement age of 60 but “only … to salaried firefighters involved in front-line firefighting duties.”
Longtin vowed he would not let the matter rest.
“It is my intention to hold the Town of Renfrew, and its responsible decision-makers, fully accountable for their illegal actions,” Longtin said in a statement via Facebook.
“In moving forward with this case, it is my intention to speak not only for myself, but for other older workers across the province, who deserve to be judged by the quality of their workplace contributions, not simply by the numbers on their birth certificates.”
Longtin told town residents via social media that he was told Monday by the mayor and reeve that under a new policy, anyone serving as the town’s fire chief had to retire at 60, like front-line firefighters, which meant he was terminated “immediately.”
“I want to go on record to state that my employment was not terminated for cause, or for any other reason other than I am now older than the town’s newly created policy on mandatory retirement age for their fire chief,” he said, adding that “up until the minute that I was advised of this decision, I was fulfilling my duties in a manner that either met or exceeded the requirements expected of me.”
The Renfrew Fire Department has 11 full-time firefighters including its chief and 16 volunteers serving the town of 8,000 about one hour west of Ottawa.
Renfrew Reeve Peter Emon said the town is proceeding with the recruitment of a new permanent chief.
In Ottawa, Chief Gerry Pingitore retired at age 60 last month but his position wasn’t affected by mandatory retirement provisions because the chief is not regularly assigned to front-line firefighting duties, deputy city solicitor David White said.