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Provinces take on PTSD issue for first responders

There is a growing effort across Canada to tackle post-traumatic stress disorder in first responders.

British Columbia and Alberta already have laws to make it easier for responders with PTSD to get workers compensation and treatment.

August 5, 2014  By The Canadian Press


A similar bill is now before the Ontario legislature and the Manitoba government says it’s studying the issue.

Vince
Savoia, a former paramedic and advocate, says 15 former police
officers, firefighters and other responders have taken their own lives
since late April.

He says it’s time to help people with PTSD come forward and get treatment.

Alex
Forrest, the head of the firefighters union in Winnipeg, says PTSD can
lead to depression, substance abuse and other problems.

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He says he still remembers checking on a colleague who was traumatized by a 2007 house fire that killed two other firefighters.

Forrest
says he found his colleague dead in a garage from suicide, holding the
pamphlet from the memorial service for the other firefighters.


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