NDP tables bill to help workers suffering from PTSD

Saskatchewan workers whosuffer from post-traumatic stress disorder could receive theirworkers compensation benefits faster if the government follows a bill introduced by the NDP on Thursday.

Right now,workerscompensation claimants must provetheir job caused theirPTSD. NDP health critic DanielleChartiersaid that can addunduestress and take time.

"All employees,all workers have the chance to be exposed to traumatic eventson the job and need presumptive coverage," saidChartier.

Under the NDP's proposed bill,adiagnosis of PTSD wouldbe presumed to be an occupational injury, which would speed up the claim process.

"PTSD is a very real injury for Saskatchewan workers and they deserve coverage in a prompt fashion to ensure they can get back to work in a timely fashion and that isn't the case right now," Chartier said.

Red tape removal needed, advocate says

Jennifer Chouinard, a trauma and crisis social worker, was diagnosed with work-relatedPTSDin February 2015. She founded theSaskatchewan PTSD Support Initiative.

"When it came down to it, my memory just stopped, it just completelyquit working while I was on the job," Chouinard said.

By passing a presumptive legislation, Chouinard said it could reduce the stigma attached to missing work because of a mental health issue.

"Right now approved claims through workers compensation less than oneper cent are psychologicalclaims and that ratio to me doesn't reflect the level of understanding we now have of mental health and its affects in the workplace," Chouinard said.

New PTSD bill expected in the fall

The government says it has been working on changing the legislation as well. First, by studying what other provinces are doing.

All three western provinces have PTSD presumption clauses, both Manitoba and British Columbia passed bills this year.

• PTSD to be recognized as work-related disease in Manitoba starting Jan. 1
• PTSD legislation inconsistent for first responders across Canada

"Our intention, over the summer, is to do a more careful analysis and likely introduce a bill in the fall," said Don Morgan,minister responsible for the Workers Compensation Board.

Morgan said Saskatchewan firefighters have been lobbying for the changes for the last year.

Advocates want new bill to cover all workers

In other jurisdictions, the presumption of PTSDis covered by a number of occupations, mainly those who respond to emergencies and traumatic events.

"We want to look carefully tomake sure we capture everybody that should be covered and have some flexibility on it," Morgan said.

In Manitoba, all occupations are covered. That is something the NDP and theSaskatchewan PTSD Support Initiative are advocating for.

"When thinking about an armed robbery at a convenience store where a worker was hurt or witnessed a customer getting hurt, he or she may suffer from PTSD, and so too, could the paramedics at the scene," said Paul Hillspresident of the Saskatoon Paramedics Association.

"However, if this legislation only included first responders, the paramedic wouldn't have to prove his or her PTSD was born of the incident, whereas the store employee would. That's not a fair and balanced approach to treating a very serious condition," Hills said.