Statement from the Minister of Health on the occasion of the first ever Fire Department Cancer Awareness Month

Posted On: January 23, 2024

opinion

January 4, 2024 | Ottawa, ON | Health Canada

Every day, firefighters across the country serve Canadians with dedication, putting the health and safety of others above their own interests, including meeting the challenges of the unprecedented 2023 wildfire season. They act as first responders in emergency situations or risk their lives to save the lives of others.

Cancer accounts for more than 86% of all service-related deaths among Canadian firefighters. Firefighters are 9% more likely to develop cancer and 14% more likely to die from it than the general population. Awareness, education and information sharing are critical to the prevention and early detection of firefighter-related cancers for the country's approximately 32,000 professional firefighters and 100,000 volunteer firefighters.

The Government of Canada has taken several actions to address these troubling statistics, including the 2021 Firefighters Action Plan launched by the Ministers of Health, Environment and Climate Change, which aims to protect firefighters from exposure to harmful chemicals during residential fires. However, there is still a lot to do.

Therefore, the Government of Canada, in consultation with stakeholders and other levels of government, is developing a comprehensive national framework to raise awareness of this issue with the goal of improving firefighters' access to prevention and cancer treatment. The framework will provide common direction to stakeholders, including health professionals, scientists and the firefighting community, to address the challenges posed by firefighting-related cancers.

In this first-ever Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month, let us take the time to express our gratitude to firefighters and recognize the risks they face. Let's work together to ensure a safer future.

The Honorable Mark Holland, PC, MP