Public Safety More Important Than Union Membership
Drive, MPP Arnott Tells Liberal Government

Waterloo-Wellington MPP Ted Arnott informed the Ontario Legislature on June 21, 2004 that the fire fighters’ union has declared open season on double-hatter fire fighters. The following is the text of his statement to the House:

Mr Ted Arnott (Waterloo-Wellington): For two years now, I have been advocating for legislation to protect the right of professional firefighters to serve as volunteers on their free time and in their home communities. The professional firefighters' union wants to force double-hatters to resign as volunteers. If this happens, small-town and rural fire departments will be weakened and communities will be less safe.

The Minister of Community Safety knows that I recently received a letter from the fire marshal, Bernard Moyle, on this issue. You know that a key part of the fire marshal's job is to advise the provincial government on fire standards and legislation. In the fire marshal's letter, he expressed appreciation for my efforts to resolve this issue and protect double-hatters, and he reaffirmed his support for legislative action to resolve the problem.

Just last week, we learned from the Ottawa firefighters' union Web site that the Ontario professional firefighters' union has lifted a moratorium on charges against double-hatters, essentially declaring open season on these firefighters. The Web site actually encourages union members to seek out double-hatters, urge them to resign as volunteers and threaten them with charges if they don't, possibly leading to their expulsion from the union and the loss of their full-time jobs.

The minister knows that the fire marshal, in this context, has warned that this situation carries with it "a potential serious threat to public safety." This is the opinion of the fire marshal.

Once again, I call upon the minister to avoid this threat and protect community safety by immediately introducing a government bill to protect double-hatters, before the summer recess, and send a signal to the union leaders that community safety in rural Ontario is more important than their union membership drive.