Ontario Human Rights Tribunal dismisses complaint of former Lakeshore volunteer firefighter

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 05, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has dismissed a ailment against the Municipality of Lakeshore by a unpaid firefighter who says helium was terminated aft being injured connected the job.

Because Chris Cadrin filed his ailment of favoritism based connected disablement much than a twelvemonth aft the alleged favoritism took place and helium was nary longer employed by the municipality astatine the time, the ailment was dismissed, according to the decision.

"Filing a ailment with the organizational responsive six years aft the applicant's employment ends does not resurrect the employment narration and the duties nether the Code," the tribunal wrote successful its decision.

"Whether the termination of employment was lawful oregon not, successful May of 2006, the organizational responsive terminated the applicant's employment."

Cadrin severely damaged his enarthrosis successful 2004 portion responding to a multivehicle collision connected Highway 401.

At the country of the 2004 collision, a workfellow pulled connected a occurrence hose, tripping Cadrin and causing him to autumn onto the wreckage of a vehicle, dislocating and damaging his shoulder. He required country to repair the injury. 

He has been surviving with post-traumatic accent upset aft responding to the deadly pile-up connected Highway 401 successful 1999.

He present receives a partial disablement outgo from the Workers Safety Insurance Board and has transitioned to moving successful spot management.

But Cadrin told CBC past autumn that helium thought for years helium was inactive employed by the municipality due to the fact that it was listed arsenic his leader connected WSIB forms.

He was told helium had been taken disconnected the roster of firefighters successful 2006 but helium interpreted that to mean helium was connected extended leave, helium said.

He didn't larn until 2019 that it meant he'd been terminated.

He said the municipality owed it to him to connection him a antithetic job. 

"I ne'er thought that I would beryllium fired from the municipality of Lakeshore for being injured successful the enactment of duty," Cadrin told CBC aft the determination was issued.

"That was my mistake."

The municipality said successful a connection it is pleased with the determination and arrogant of the members of its occurrence service.

"We are pleased with the determination of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) and basal by our archetypal connection that the allegations were humanities successful quality and bash not bespeak the civilization oregon practices of the Lakeshore Fire Department oregon Municipality of Lakeshore," a spokesperson said successful a statement.

"While the determination did not talk to the merits of the case, we are assured that we complied with our ain policies, and the standards and processes acceptable retired successful the Human Rights Code, Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, and different employment-related legislation."

Cadrin says helium knew helium was facing an uphill conflict filing a quality rights ailment truthful galore years aft the incident. 

"It's precise hard to get past that 1 twelvemonth timeline," helium said.

"I was disappointed with the determination and I don't hold with the decision, but I knew that I had a beauteous … precocious barroom to conscionable to get past the 1 twelvemonth timeline."

The tribunal's determination comes astatine a clip erstwhile Canada faces a shortage of unpaid firefighters arsenic radical with families conflict to find the clip to perpetrate to grooming and service.

The decision, helium said, sends a antagonistic connection to unpaid firefighters. 

"That truly frustrates maine erstwhile I spot a person successful the quality … saying they person the backs of firefighters," helium said.

"I privation to cognize specifically what they're going to bash erstwhile someone's injured, erstwhile someone's ill, erstwhile someone's dying of cancer. What are they gonna bash to person those people's backs?"

Cadrin says that portion helium whitethorn not person immoderate further ineligible recourse against the municipality, he'll continue to advocator for injured firefighters.