Bill C-321, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (assaults against persons who provide health services and first responders), proposes language requiring an assault victim’s status as on on-duty first responder to be considered during sentencing. The bill now moves to the Senate for further debate and voting after swiftly making its way through the important first stages of the legislative process.
IAFF members from Saskatoon Ambulance, Sask. Local 3270, Montreal, Que. Local 125 and Ottawa, Ont. Local 162 were in the public gallery to witness Wednesday’s House of Commons vote on Bill C-321, which was introduced in March 2023 by BC Conservative MP Todd Doherty. In the weeks prior to the vote, the IAFF coordinated a successful letter-writing campaign urging their MPs to support the legislation.
With the House of Commons hurdle cleared, delegates at the IAFF’s 31st Canadian Legislative Conference April 14-16 in Ottawa will lobby for swift passage of Bill C-321 in the Senate.
Violence should never be part of the job description for fire fighters and paramedics. We’re grateful to MPs for endorsing MP Doherty’s bill and looking for the same level of support in the Canadian Senate.
Edward Kelly,
IAFF General President
In October, Local 3270 President Paul Hills testified in support of Bill C-321 on behalf of the IAFF during committee hearings. He told MPs that the legislation is needed in the face of increasing acts of violence against first responders, which have included confrontations with knives and other weapons, threats of bodily harm, and confiscating a gun from a patient during treatment.
Hills’ testimony included stories from the field, including a Toronto fire fighter who suffered a brutal assault to the face with a PVC pipe while responding to a fire at a homeless encampment, a Winnipeg fire fighter who was stabbed in the back during a medical call, and overdose patients who became aggressive with first responders in British Columbia and other regions after care has been rendered to save their lives.
If Bill C-321 passes in the Senate and receives Royal Assent, it will require the proposed amendments to be added to the Criminal Code. The IAFF also supports Bill C-345, introduced by BC NDP MP Peter Julian, which also proposes legislative amendments to deter violence against fire fighters and paramedics. Bill C-345 has not yet been selected to advance in the legislative process.
