Former firefighter says he has PTSD from 401 pileup — and Lakeshore wrongfully terminated him
Multiple firefighters say they should have been offered jobs after they were injured
Three former Lakeshore volunteer firefighters are saying they were wrongfully dismissed or ended up having to quit from the Municipality of Lakeshore after they were injured.
The men are alleging the municipality should have offered them jobs they could handle, in accordance with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.
One is seeking $20 million in damages. He alleges Lakeshore is not following its own policy regarding discrimination and harassment.
"I was never made aware that my employment was terminated," said Christopher Cadrin, who was a volunteer firefighter on the Lakeshore Fire Service when he was one of the first responders at the major pile-up on Highway 401 in 1999. He injured his shoulder in 2004 and then says he was told he was removed from the roster of firefighters in 2006.
Cadrin says he thought that meant he was on extended medical leave, but found out in 2019 he was terminated in 2006.
"And because I was collecting WSIB [money from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board] for my shoulder they are listed on all the documentation from WSIB as my employer, I automatically thought they were still my employer," said Cadrin.
The municipality says it followed all the necessary employment laws, and has already been found to be in compliance in some of the cases.
But Cadrin says under the provincial Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, the municipality was required to offer him a job he could perform rather than firing him.
According to WSIB, an employer does have a responsibility to try to provide suitable work that is safe, productive, within the employee's function abilities, and matches the employee's pre-injury pay as closely as possible.
"I said I could be the benefits rep. I went to Ryerson University, or now called Toronto Metropolitan, for occupational health and safety and I got a certificate there," said Cadrin.
Former volunteer firefighter Brian Brydges was a captain and the incident commander at the fatal 401 pileup in 1999.
While he has not been officially diagnosed, Brydges says he suffers PTSD from the incident.
"The emotional side was overwhelming for every fireman that was there just to see what was going on not alone having to have to react," said Brydges, who joined the service as a volunteer in 1984.
He was also on scene at the fire at QM Plastics on Silver Creek Drive in 2006. People were evacuated from the scene due to the concern for hazardous chemicals in the air.
Brydges says he eventually suffered kidney failure in 2008. He put in a claim to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act Tribunal, which sided with Brydges, who argued the kidney disease stemmed from exposure to chemicals.
"Even though I did have a non-lost time claim for being exposed to 14 pages of double-sided of chemicals, they [Lakeshore] still fought the claim," he said.
Brydges ended up getting a kidney transplant — amazingly, with a donation from his own wife Tammy.
He eventually got payment from WSIB for being off for a year at his full-time job between 2009 and 2010 for $73,500 for the transplant.
According to Brydges, he was fired from the fire service in 2012 because he couldn't perform his duties, but he also claims he should have been given a job.
"And at the time, it worked out that the deputy chief retired and I had 25 years and at that time and my lawyer wrote them a letter they had a duty to accommodate and that they should hire me as the deputy chief," said Brydges.
The London lawyer for Brydges and Cadrin agrees the municipality should have followed the WSIB Act and offered them jobs.
"It certainly makes sense. That's the intent of the legislation. And I believe it's the letter of the legislation," said Kevin Egan.
Brydges' wife feels the municipality has treated her husband terribly.
"I fought for him side by side and I went to the fire department several times asking for help," said Tammy Brydges.
"I brought in medical information to them and they didn't want to help."
Former firefighter Kim Carigan was also at the Highway 401 disaster and the QM Plastics fire.
The 63-year-old suffered a near-fatal lung disease in 2013. He can't prove it was from firefighting, but he also says he was essentially not given much of a choice when he was cleared to go back in 2015.
"Either start off as a rookie again, get fired or retire," said Carigan, who tried to take the rookie training but found it too strenuous at the age of 55.
He says the municipality still has a responsibility to give him work regardless of where he got the injury.
But according to WSIB, employers only have a duty to accommodate employees who have filed claims with WSIB and those have been approved.
"Because they just more or less [say] there's the door, goodbye," said Carigan.
"Maybe put me in a desk job, maybe do fire prevention, anything. Not just brush their hands of me and say, 'Hey you're on your own,'" said Carigan, adding he only received $10 for every year of the 35 years he served on the service amounting to $350 severance pay.
He says he now has skin cancer and will be filing a WSIB claim for that.
Cadrin has taken his case to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and is asking the tribunal to rule the municipality owes him $20 million in damages, partly for the trauma he says he suffers from being let go, and partly because his diagnosed PTSD led to him getting fired at his job at a Windsor auto manufacturer.
He is also seeking $100,000 each for 14 other firefighters, including Brydges and Carigan, who say they also ended up leaving the fire service when they should have been offered jobs. He wants the tribunal to order the municipality to hire a third-party investigator to investigate the other cases of discrimination he alleges.
"They've got to investigate. They have to look at what they did to these other people," said Cadrin.
Brydges is also seeking compensation from the WSIB tribunal for back pay and pay up to the age of 65. He is currently 59.
The firefighters say although they are called volunteers they did received payment for the fires they fought.
"I'd like to at least get recognized for what I've done, you know. [You] give 35 years of your life to something, something I love doing, helping others, and just to get kicked to the curb," said Carigan, who has not gone to the WSIB Tribunal or the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario over his case.
Municipality of Lakeshore statement
The Municipality of Lakeshore provided a statement to CBC News in response to the complaints:
Given that the matters outlined in the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) complaint relate to current and former employees, we are limited in terms of what we can share. What we can say, however, is that the allegations brought forth are historical in nature, dating back to 2006, and do not reflect the culture or practices of the Lakeshore Fire Department or Municipality of Lakeshore. Some of the allegations made have been addressed in various Ministry of Labour reviews that found no wrongdoing by the municipality.
Lakeshore is confident that it complied with its own policies, and the standards and processes set out in the Human Rights Code, Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, and other employment-related legislation. The Municipality stands behind the decisions which have already been rendered and will continue to defend ourselves against these allegations.
Both the HRTO complaint, and the public positioning of these complaints, inaccurately portray how the standards set out in the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act are enforced. The Act includes a comprehensive appeal process for employees who feel they were not provided with appropriate accommodation or were wrongfully dismissed following an injury. We will continue to respect the decisions made by WSIB.
Finally, we cannot discuss the individual employment records of the additional firefighters named in the complaint. However, there are a number of reasons why a firefighter would leave the service, including the requirement to live within proximity of the service's fire stations.
Certain individuals in administration at the time of the terminations are no longer with the municipality.
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