Recognize all cancer risks for firefighters

SNC-Lavalin is now faced with disqualification from Canadian government contracts for 10 years. Why? For following accepted bribery practices in a country that is not even Canada? How fair is that? Jacques Dufault, Orléans

Re: Surviving member of ‘Nepean cluster’ says watching colleagues die changed his career in firefighting, Feb. 8.

I know first-hand the heavy toll of being a firefighter. My dad, Ron Phillips, was a Nepean firefighter from 1971 to 2004, a dedicated, hardworking union man. Near the end of his career, he worked at the Viewmount Drive firehall. He was one of the “cluster” diagnosed in 2004 with cancer, passing away in 2005.

As a child, I can recall my father coming home late from a townhome fire off Merivale Road. He was arrived covered in soot and ash; he looked as though someone had traced black eyeliner around the outline of his nose, lips, eyes. Yet, he is now a statistic to the Ontario Workers Safety and Insurance Board. His claim was denied as stomach cancer is not covered for firefighters. He chose to proceed with the claim in hopes of providing a starting point to help his co-workers, including his son and son-in-law (my husband), who are also firefighters with the City of Ottawa.

After a career of public service, the impossible burden of proof when members are diagnosed with cancer has fallen on firefighters and their families. We need to do better by affirming in the legislature that all cancers for firefighters be covered. Bonnie-Lynne Bowles, Manotick