Firefighters endorse NDP, ditch Tories

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This article was published 24/08/2023 (744 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Winnipeg firefighters union has thrust its support behind the NDP, which made a multimillion-dollar promise Thursday to support first-responders in southwest Winnipeg.

United Firefighters of Winnipeg president Tom Bilous said although the union backed the Tories in the last provincial election, the union had “a number of other issues we had approached (the PC government) about that were never dealt with. We were never consulted with despite being promised we would be consulted.”

Bilous said the union has spoken with both parties at length in recent months.

“When it came down to it, (the NDP) were ready to act… it was a no-brainer. We’re with the NDP.”

Shortly after Heather Stefanson won the Tory leadership and became premier in October 2021, she made good on a promise to expand the list of cancers that entitle firefighters to work-related compensation.

Bilous said the union is “forever indebted” for that.

The New Democrats promised Thursday to pay for 40 firefighters and help cover operating costs of a yet-to-be constructed fire hall in Waverley West, should the party win the Oct. 3 election.

The neighbourhood, which has roughly 50,000 people, doesn’t have a fire hall.

Bilous said the Waverley West fire hall was not among the issued that led to Tories losing the union’s support.

He would not speculate on whether the union endorsement will help the NDP to power.

“That’s for the people to decide, but I can tell you we’ve got 1,500 of the hardest-working Winnipegers that I represent that are getting behind (the NDP).”

The union has long held sway in political elections, having helped clinch Stefanson’s 2021 victory.

Amid an NDP leadership review in 2015, the union threw its weight behind former premier Greg Selinger, allowing him to maintain his leadership. The move prompted Brian Pallister, then the leader of the PC party, to accuse Selinger of arranging a back door deal in exchange for union support.

Most recently, the union supported Glen Murray in his unsuccessful 2022 bid to become Winnipeg mayor.

Government Services Minister James Teitsma addressed the endorsement in an email statement.

“The City of Winnipeg is in charge of fire halls — and our government is already working with them to provide funding for community infrastructure in Waverley,” he said. “It’s clear that Wab Kinew is not ready to govern, given that he does not understand jurisdictional government boundaries”

“Firefighters have our backs — and no matter who wins on Oct. 3, our PC team will always have theirs. We will continue working with them to make our communities stronger.”

Kinew estimated fully staffing the fire hall would cost $14.2 million. The amount accounts for salaries, pension, benefits, operational funding and potential wage increases over four years.

The NDP promise is contingent on the city building a permanent fire hall in the area.

City officials have announced plans to build a station near the South Winnipeg Recreation Campus between Kenaston Boulevard and Waverley Street at a cost of $12.1 million. Pending budgetary approval, the site is to be completed by 2025.

“We’ve made the decision that funding the positions is the most effective way for us to make this community safer,” Kinew said, adding he is confident the hall will be built without additional provincial funding .

“I think this is the necessary step to ensure that the City of Winnipeg gets a new Waverley West fire hall built.”

In the interim, the city plans to build a temporary station at 110 Eaglewood Dr.; construction is slated to begin this fall and the site is to be operational before the end of the year.

It will house a fire engine and crew dedicated to reducing emergency response times — a longtime concern of residents.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Chief Christian Schmidt said last year the average response time for firefighter paramedics was about eight minutes, 47 seconds.

A master plan released in 2020 noted the average total emergency response time in Waverley West was 11 minutes and 27 seconds in 2018. The nearest fire station is at 1567 Waverley St.

The new hires promised by the NDP would include a mix of firefighters and cross-trained firefighter-paramedics, Bilous said.

Winnipeg employs an integrated system for medical emergency response, in which firefighters — many trained as primary-care paramedics — work alongside ambulance paramedics with either primary or advanced life-support training.

WFPS data regarding the number of calls for service to the Waverley West neighbourhood since 2019 was not immediately available Thursday.

David Pankratz, a city firefighter and former paramedic, is the NDP candidate for Waverley. He is running against incumbent Tory Jon Reyes.

— with files from Danielle Da Silva

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca