Ontario To Introduce Legislation To Support First Responders With PTSD
New Law Would Help Expedite Identification, Intervention and Treatment
The province has introduced legislation to help first responders with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to get the help they need. If approved, the new law will help expedite identification, intervention and treatement by removing the need to prove a causal link between PTSD and a workplace event. It would also require employers to implement PTSD prevention plans within the workplace. The proposed legislation would apply to police officers, firefighters, paramedics, workers in correctional institutions and secure youth justice facilities, dispatchers of police, firefighter and ambulance services, and First Nations emergency response teams. Evidence shows that first responders are at least twice as likely compared to the general population to suffer PTSD, due to the risk of routine exposure to traumatic stressors.
