The Canadian Cancer Survivor Network (CCSN) wants the government to move more quickly on the promise to protect firefighters from cancer.
The CCSN said this is especially timely given the occurrence of so many wildfires across the country during the summer of 2023.
It's critical to protect firefighters from developing cancer. They simply can't wait, said a CCSN news release.
"As we've said before, Cancer Can't Wait," said CCSN President & CEO Jackie Manthorne, in the release.
"During COVID-19 we witnessed the interruption of cancer care delivery to patients. Now, after the worst wildfire season in Canadian history, we're all witnessing the risk of structural and wildland firefighters' developing cancers due to occupational exposure. It's critical to protect firefighters from developing cancer. They simply can't wait."
The survivor network works to connect patients, survivors and other stakeholder groups with decision makers and the wider community to engage in discussion and to act on evidence-based best practices to alleviate the medical, emotional, financial, and social costs of cancer, said CCSN.
Manthorne said there was a positive move earlier this year with the passage of Bill-C224, but she is urging quicker action.
"The federal government has taken a step in the right direction with the introduction of the National Framework on Cancers Linked to Firefighting Act," said Manthorne.
"Today, we urgently ask governments from across Canada to expedite their efforts and implement this new framework in response to the increased cancer risk that firefighters face at every call."
Additional steps
CCSN is also urging Health Canada to take additional steps to improve the framework. These steps include implementing and enforcing stricter exposure limits for carcinogens encountered by firefighters; developing workplace-specific toxic use reduction policies; encouraging the use of safer technologies and establishing a registry of workplace exposures to be tracked and analyzed over time, said the news release.
CCSN would also like to see enhanced workplace safety training with a focus on prevention and identification of carcinogens, along with training to identify the early symptoms of cancer and when firefighters should seek medical advice, said the release.
The organization is also calling for more research funding to investigate links between firefighting and cancer and also streamlining and standardizing the process for recognizing occupational cancer.
