Fire fighters in Canada’s northernmost IAFF Local are celebrating a new agreement with their employer that makes important gains in pay, staffing and health and safety, including a commitment to phase in PFAS-free firefighting gear.
Alex Storring, president of Iqaluit, NU Local 5473, welcomed the new agreement.
Storring said the employer quickly agreed to the PFAS-free gear once it understood the increased risk fire fighters face from occupational cancers. He said he was proud that Iqaluit fire fighters are the first in the Canadian territories and the fourth in Canada to secure such a commitment.
“It’s huge for us,” Storring said. “It sets a standard for other departments. If we can manage it, then others should be able to.”
The agreement states that all fire fighter equipment will be replaced upon expiry or when necessary due to wear and tear, and that “all new equipment shall be PFAS chemical free as approved by the employer.” With the agreement, Iqaluit fire fighters become the fourth in Canada to secure a commitment on PFAS-free gear, following Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.; Vancouver, B.C.; and Montreal, Que.
The four-year contract, which covers 2025 through 2028, provides a 19 per-cent wage increase over the period and the hiring of four full-time fire fighters, adding one on-duty fire fighter per shift. It also paves the way for eight dispatchers to join the IAFF Local, bringing its membership to 32.
Other advances include changing the definition of dependents to include foster children of city staff, a groundbreaking advance that will immediately benefit two current members, and doubling the number of Traditional Days – for employees to engage in traditional and cultural activities – to four. The settlement also includes an employer-paid monthly professional association fee for all fire fighters, which will be put toward their IAFF per capita.
The Iqaluit fire fighters joined the IAFF in early 2024 with associate status. The NEU, a division of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), holds their bargaining rights while the IAFF provides key services specific to their profession in the fly-in Baffin Island community of just under 10,000 residents.
It sets a standard for other departments. If we can manage it, then others should be able to.
Iqaluit, NU Local 5473 President Alex Storring
IAFF 13th District Vice President Fred LeBlanc, who organized the Local, said he was pleased the PSAC negotiator and the city both recognized the importance of switching to PFAS-free firefighting gear among other advances.
“Iqaluit fire fighters should be proud to be among the first in Canada to secure that commitment,” he said.
Storring said the joint affiliation is working well; the unions are lobbying the territorial government together to expand Nunavut’s presumptive cancer coverage for fire fighters. Currently, 14 cancers are covered.
“Hopefully more good news comes out of that; there’s definitely good cooperation from both sides.”