16th Canadian Legislative Conference is Oct. 26-29, 2008

The 16th Canadian Legislative Conference will make a rare autumn appearance on the IAFF calendar this year due to the strong likelihood that a spring election will mean the federal government won’t be sitting during the conference’s usual April timeframe.

The conference is now scheduled to take place October 26 to 29, 2008 at the Delta Ottawa Hotel. Updated information about the IAFF’s Canadian Legislative Agenda and about conference and hotel registration will be sent to Canadian affiliate presidents and secretaries in advance of the October conference.

The need for a national Public Safety Officer Compensation (PSOC) benefit for the families of fallen fire fighters remains atop the IAFF’s Canadian Legislative Agenda in 2008, along the need for national fire service statistics and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) reform for professional fire fighters.

In addition, the IAFF plans to bring forward secondary legislative issues related to third-party investigations of fire fighter line of duty deaths and problems with the national building code.

The IAFF’s Canadian Legislative Agenda is supported by a number of private members’ bills and motions currently before parliament, including motion M-49, which calls on the Canadian government to establish a PSOC benefit. Bill C-306 and motion M-25 address CPP reform for professional fire fighters and motion M—325 specifies the creation of a national office for fire service statistics.

As long as the Canadian Parliament continues to sit, the IAFF Canadian Office will be working to further the items on our Canadian Legislative Agenda, and the IAFF encourages Canadian affiliates to continue to look for opportunities to do the same in their locals.

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