The sudden death of RCMP Cpl. Ron Francis has prompted first responders to call on the government to do more to address the stresses they face on the job each day.
Oromocto Fire Chief Jody Price says the stresses that come with being a first responder have always been there, but people haven’t always been willing to talk about them.
“To understand there is nothing wrong with saying ‘that one bothered me, that one really bothered me’ and when you hear your peers say that, then that’s, I think, where it needs to start,” says Price, who has been a firefighter for almost three decades.
“We have PTSD in this fire department. We’ve had people clinically diagnosed for PTSD.”
Price knew and worked alongside Francis, who made national headlines last year after he complained that he wasn't allowed to smoke medicinal marijuana for post-traumatic stress disorder while in uniform.
Last November, Francis returned his red serge uniform, saying he was doing so on orders from his superiors, and accused the RCMP, and the federal government of not doing enough to support officers with PTSD.
At the time, the RCMP said its officers who are prescribed medicinal marijuana should not be in red serge or regular uniform while taking their medication as it wouldn't portray the right message to the public.
Francis was found dead Monday afternoon at the Kingsclear First Nation and police say foul play is not suspected.
Chris Hood is the executive director of the New Brunswick Paramedics Association and president of the Paramedics Association of Canada. He says there are major gaps in the system that cares for first responders and that it needs to be addressed on a national level.
“They’re telling us some real horror stories and they’re telling us things like somewhere around 28 per cent of them have contemplated suicide,’ says Hood.
“The stresses that exist in Nova Scotia are not that different than the stresses that exist in New Brunswick versus British Columbia or anywhere. So we need to take what limited resources we have and use them to the best of our ability.”
New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant says his government will follow Nova Scotia’s lead and examine programs available for first responders.
“We’re certainly open to finding any ways we can to support them more and improve what type of help we do provide and what type of assistance is there for them,” says Gallant.
“Many of the services are in place, it’s just that there isn’t a coordinated and direct path to access them, and that’s what I’m very concerned about,” says Nova Scotia Health Minister Leo Glavine.
First responders say, unless the gaps in the system are closed soon, there will be more tragedies like the sudden death of Cpl. Ron Francis.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Andy Campbell and The Canadian Press
