Mayor, inner circle want assaults on firefighters, paramedics added to Criminal Code

Physical assaults and threats against Winnipeg firefighters and paramedics have become a regular occurrence on the job, prompting a push within city hall for changes to Canada’s Criminal Code.

Mayor Scott Gillingham said 58 assaults or threats were reported by the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service halfway through 2025 — a figure that one union says is likely underreported by a large margin.

“When you’ve got firefighters, firefighter paramedics and paramedics attending a call to try to help someone, they shouldn’t be assaulted,” Gillingham told reporters. “When they are, there’s got to be consequences for individuals who assault our front-line workers.”

At a meeting Tuesday, city hall’s executive policy committee unanimously endorsed a motion, introduced by the mayor, that calls on Ottawa to amend the Criminal Code to make assaults against firefighters and paramedics a distinct offence, and increase penalties for aggravated assaults against first responders.

The code currently has a charge that is specific to assaults against peace officers, including police.

The motion will next go to city council for a vote.

“We’ve got to protect our firefighters and paramedics in the same way we do our police officers,” Gillingham said.

Two private member’s bills recently sought to create an offence of assaulting a first responder or health worker. Both failed to advance before Parliament was prorogued in January.

Some of the violence against first responders is linked to Winnipeg’s drug crisis. Gillingham said the city is working with the province on addictions and mental-health issues.

The Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union represents about 400 city paramedics.

“We applaud the effort. We feel, though, it’s a bit reactive rather than proactive,” MGEU president Kyle Ross said of Gillingham’s motion. “We can charge someone and, hopefully, keep them off the streets from doing it again, but it still means a member of the WFPS is being injured.”

He said WFPS staff likely do not report all assaults or threats to their employer because the incidents are so commonplace.

“We’ve got to protect our firefighters and paramedics in the same way we do our police officers.”

Nearly all respondents (94 per cent) in the MGEU’s spring survey of city paramedics said they have been exposed to violence on the job.

About one-quarter (24 per cent) said they were exposed to workplace violence on a daily basis, MGEU said.

Ross noted societal factors while advocating for violence prevention.

“We have to work with city and try to find ways to ensure (staff) are supported in those moments and not being injured,” he said. “No one should go to to work and expect to be injured on a day-to-day basis. It’s just not a fair situation for workers.”

United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg has said violence is a daily occurrence for its members. The union has advocated for Criminal Code amendments and other measures to protect employees.

Incidents can compound over time and lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, and staff need time to recover from and process incidents, Ross said.

In June, an annual report said the city’s Workers Compensation Board-related costs rose to $25.5 million last year, up from $19.4 million in 2023.

WFPS and Winnipeg Transit staff suffered the highest injury rates and the most psychological claims.

MGEU’s survey of city paramedics showed high levels of stress and burnout, with 71 per cent of respondents saying they seriously considered leaving their current employer in the past year.

In June, provincial Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara and Justice Minister Matt Wiebe wrote to federal Attorney General Sean Fraser to back calls for Criminal Code amendments.

A government spokesperson said both ministers have since met with their federal counterparts, and held a joint meeting with the WFPS executive to discuss legal protections for all first responders and care providers.

“Our government is continuing to urge the federal government to include amendments to the Criminal Code that would include assaults against health-care workers as an aggravating factor during sentencing,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca