IAFF May 19, 2015 letter to the Globe and Mail (as submitted by IAFF)

IAFF May 19, 2015 letter to the Globe and Mail (as submitted by IAFF) To the editor: Margaret Wente is simply wrong on both assertions in her column Firefighters are underworked and overpaid (May 19). She portrays firefighters’24-hour shifts as a “part-time job,” despite the fact that the 24-hour shift amounts to a 42-hour workweek, which is 234 hours annually more than the typical salaried worker. By the same token, firefighters’ hourly wages are lower than people tend to think due to their longer workweek. The arbitration system has become a favourite target of some municipal leaders. Yet analysis in Ontario and Saskatchewan for example shows arbitrated wage settlements closely mirror those that are freely negotiated. Wente quotes the lamentations of Thorold, Ont. Mayor Ted Luciani, but neither mentions that the recent Thorold firefighters’ arbitration award was a “consent award,” which means the city freely agreed to its terms, including wages. It would seem a relevant fact in this case, wouldn’t it? The recent Fraser Institute report on municipal fire departments that Wente relies on for many of her conclusions is dubious to say the least; in 14 pages it cites no fewer than 10 disclaimers about data limitations. The national statistics it relies on for the number of fires is missing data from four provinces, and its conclusions on the number of municipal firefighters in Canada cannot possibly be correct. It claims there are 14,000 full-time firefighters in Ontario, but the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal will confirm the number is just over 11,000. Like the Fraser Institute, Wente also ignores the fact that firefighters do a lot more than fight fires, and that fires in today’s homes burn many times hotter and faster than they used to. This is not an idea dreamed up by firefighters to scare people, it’s the conclusion of an independent scientific analysis by Underwriter Laboratories titled Analysis of Changing Residential Fire Dynamics.

Ms. Wente falls into the trap of writing about the cost of fire protection and not the value of it. Full-time firefighters are skilled professionals who are certified in numerous technical disciplines including medical response, Haz-Mat and technical rescue. They respond to virtually any emergency in minutes for less than $1 a day per household in most cities, based on an average property assessment, and in the past 20 years, most cities’ fire department budgets have not increased significantly as an overall percentage of municipal budgets. In Thorold, the average household pays 94 cents a day for fire protection, based on the city’s own budget documents for 2015. If there’s one thing taxpayers expect their tax dollars to do, it’s protect their family and their property. If municipal leaders like Thorold’s Ted Luciani don’t think 94 cents a day for lifesaving emergency response is sustainable, it’s not firefighters who should be facing the tough questions. This is the third time since 2013 that the Globe and Mail, through Wente, has used misleading arguments and questionable data to try to impugn firefighters; never has anyone from the paper attempted to contact us for our views on these matters let alone to clarify the many misconceptions the paper obviously has about our profession. It is not befitting of a newspaper that strives to deliver “world-class opinion and debate.” Scott Marks Assistant to the General President for Canadian Operations International Association of Fire Fighters (613) 567-8988 [email protected] and Carmen Santoro, President Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association (905) 681-7111 [email protected]