In a statement published on their website earlier this month, United Nurses of Alberta reiterated their determination to continue fighting for equality in presumptive coverage for psychological injuries by Workers’ Compensation.
The statement responded to a media release published the week before by the Government of Alberta, announcing $1.5 million in grants for non-profit organizations and researchers.
The Supporting Psychological Health in First Responders programme is supposed to help the 13 nonprofits provide services for first responders living with or at risk for post-traumatic stress injuries. It will also fund research that will hopefully improve treatment and prevention programmes for the same first responders.
The government’s media release reported that between 2019 and 2023, first responders filed 1,418 Workers’ Compensation Board claims related to post-traumatic stress injuries.
Created during the 2020–2021 budget year, the Supporting Psychological Health in First Responders programme has committed up to $1.5 million per year in grant funding. So, this is ongoing funding, not a new initiative. The government made an announcement about a 4-year-old programme.
According to the UNA’s statement, first responders in male-dominated fields—such as police, firefighters, and paramedics—aren’t required to provide proof of a causal link between post-traumatic stress disorder and workplace incidents to receive Workers’ Compensation coverage.
This is what Workers’ Compensation Board — Alberta calls “presumptive coverage”.
According to a WCBA fact sheet, the board presumes “that a confirmed psychological or psychiatric injury arose out of and occurred in the course of employment in the following circumstances, unless there is evidence to the contrary”. It then lists two circumstances:
- A first responder has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder
- Correctional officers, emergency dispatchers, f irefighters, paramedics, peace officers, police officers, or any other class of worker prescribed by the regulations, diagnosed with a traumatic psychological injury following exposure to a traumatic event
So, basically, all a first responder needs to provide when filing a claim is a diagnosis of PTSD, no proof that the PTSD actually came from work.
The WCBA fact sheet justifies this presumptive coverage because “first responders, correctional officers and emergency dispatchers are routinely exposed to traumatic events at work as part of their normal job expectations”.
Nurses, on the other hand, must provide proof that their PTSD diagnosis is directly connected to their job when applying for the same coverage.
UNA president Heather Smith claimed in this month’s statement that “nurses are routinely exposed to traumatic events in the workplace”, and as such, shouldn’t “be forced to wait for — or be denied — access to Workers’ Compensation benefits after experiencing traumatic events while on the job”.
About 6 months ago, Heather Murray, a nursing instructor and an on-call registered nurse in the Edmonton area, gathered roughly 1,000 signatures petitioning the Alberta government to include nurses in presumptive coverage legislation.
According to the Alberta Federation of Labour, prior to 2020, all workers were eligible for presumptive coverage. However, limiting access to this coverage was one of the outcomes of Jason Kenney’s Ensuring Safety and Cutting Red Tape Act, also known as Bill 21.
In November 2023, Smith said, “Nurses are on the front lines of the health care system and should be included with other front-line workers . . . in not needing to provide proof of a causal link to post-traumatic stress disorder and workplace incidents to receive coverage”.
