Hearing set for dismissed firefighters

Fire Marshal staying out of “internal” matter
By Brad Pritchard Alliston Herald Nov 26, 2010 – 3:22 PM
ADJALA-TOSORONTIO – Four Adjala-Tosorontio firefighters who say they were wrongfully fired after raising workplace and safety concerns will be contesting the township’s termination decision at a hearing this coming Monday (Nov. 29) at the Nottawasaga Inn in Alliston.
The firefighters were given the option to fight their termination after they were given letters from the township the week of Nov. 8. The letters gave the firefighters two options. First, they were given the option to accept the decision and take a lump-sum payout while agreeing to never speak publicly about the issue. The other choice was to decline the decision, waive the money, and face a township organized tribunal, headed up by town lawyer Jay Feehely.
Not counting the money paid for lieu of notice payments, the firefighters were offered $23,050 to sign the non-disclosure agreement.
The firefighters passed up the money and decided to fight the decision. To read the original story click here.
Township staff and council have refused to comment about the terminations or the lump-sum payouts.
“It’s out of our hands,” said Adjala-Tosorontio Mayor Tom Walsh. “The town put the tribunal in place and I don’t think we can prejudice the tribunal in any way, shape or form. We can’t comment on it.”
“I feel that it’s got to go ahead and iron itself out,” he said.
Walsh said the office of the Ontario Fire Marshal (OFM) is well aware of the situation. He said it hasn’t seen anything worth raising a red flag over.
“The Fire Marshal knows what’s going on. They feel that we’ve been operating the fire department properly,” he said.
OFM spokesperson Kirk Parsons said the office has assessed the situation and has decided not to get involved. He said the township hasn’t asked the OFM to conduct a formal investigation either.
The OFM was first made aware of the situation in June during an unrelated meeting with former interim chief Carrie Weatherup. The OFM later met with the four firefighters involved and was able to draw a conclusion.
“The information provided indicated it was an internal matter. We wouldn’t be involved in it,” Parsons said.
Parsons said the township never informed the OFM it would be terminating the firefighters. As to what would provoke the OFM to become involved in an issue like this, he said it’s a case-by-case decision.
“It depends on issue itself,” Parsons said. “If we deem the issue to impact fire safety, we get involved. If it’s deemed internal, we don’t.”
Regarding the workplace safety concerns brought up by the firefighters, Parsons said those issues would be handled by the Ministry of Labour.
Labour ministry spokesperson Matt Blajer said an investigation is currently underway, but he couldn’t comment further.