ROBERT E. HALL LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE

Every year, your BC Affiliate Leaders gather in Victoria at the Robert E. Hall Legislative Conference and meet with their Member of the Legislative Assembly lobbying for best practices in fire fighter and public safety.

Your BC Affiliate Leaders are provided with evidence based data/research and best practices by BCPFFA committees and expert guest speakers in areas of NFPA 1710, building codes, fire retardants, and presumptive legislation such as cancer, heart and occupational stress injuries. They take this information to government at the BC Legislature and lobby on behalf of all BC fire fighters.

Since 2005, your BC Affiliate Leaders have successfully lobbied legislation into the Workers’ Compensation Act, twenty occupational diseases casually related to the profession of fire fighting. See Legislation to the Workers Compensation Act for the following:

In 2005, the first reading of the Worker's Compensation Amendment Act, that recognized 7 cancers as occupational diseases for fire fighters {Brain, Bladder, Colorectal, Kidney, Ureter, Primary non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and primary leukaemia, Testicular}. Since then, the following have been added as presumptive illnesses/diseases:View fullsize

2008 Lung cancer;
2011 Esophageal cancer;
2014 Heart Disease;
2017 Breast, Prostate, Myeloma;
2018 Occupational Stress Injuries;
2022 Cervical, Ovarian, Penile, Pancreatic, Thyroid and reductions in accumulative periods in Testicular, Colorectal, Esophageal

In March 2024, The Ministry of Mental Health & Addictions announced funding for an Occupational Awareness Training backed by the BCPFFA in collaboration with the BC Municipal Safety Association, Fire Chief’s Association of BC, Volunteer Association of BC, BC Training Fire Officer Association, and added BC Wildfire Service to the program. Learn more

We continue to lobby for cancer prevention programs, psychological training in the workplace, and other occupational best practices and benefits for our members and their families.

ABOUT ROBERT E. HALL

Robert was a fire fighter with Vancouver, Local 18 and he was a leading voice as BCPFFA Secretary-Treasurer in a decade-long lobby to have the BC Government recognize health risks in fire fighters. On October 31, 2005 Robert led us to the Legislature in Victoria and sat in the public gallery for the first reading of the Worker's Compensation Amendment Act. It recognized 7 cancers as occupational diseases for fire fighters {Brain, Bladder, Colorectal, Kidney, Ureter, Primary non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and primary leukaemia}. Since then, Testicular, Lung, Esophageal, Prostate, Breast and Multiple Myeloma cancers and Heart Disease have been added as presumptive.

On August 27, 2007 Rob succumbed to Occupational Cancer. BC Fire Fighters will be forever grateful of his leadership and vision in working with the provincial government to recognize and improve fire fighters' health and safety.

Today, the Workers Compensation Act recognized eighteen occupational diseases as being casually related to the profession of fire fighting.