The union representing Victoria firefighters is aiming to meet with Premier David Eby this week following the one-day suspension of a member who wrote a letter to the premier outlining downtown safety concerns.
Jeremy Wilson, president of Local 730 of the International Association of Firefighters, is expected to comment publicly after the meeting with Eby, his office said Wednesday.
Debate around the one-day suspension without pay for firefighter Josh Montgomery put the spotlight on differences between Eby and Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto.
Eby said earlier that no one should be suspended for writing to the premier’s office.
“No one should face consequences for writing to me and if that’s the reason he was sanctioned, then he deserves an apology and back-pay from the person responsible.”
Alto said in response that no apology was planned, that she had nothing to do with the fire department’s suspension decision and that this was a local government matter.
She would not elaborate on the matter at a news conference Wednesday, saying only: “As I understand it there’s a process that’s underway and it would be inappropriate to wade into that.
“I could inadvertently affect that positively or negatively so my comment would be we all have an opportunity to have conversations and I wish them luck.”
A Times Colonist call to the Victoria Fire Department chief was replied to by a city hall spokesperson who reiterated that the municipality does not respond to questions about personnel matters.
The union has started on “steps to refute discipline as outlined in its collective agreement with the city, demanding a full rescission of the discipline along with all lost wages and benefits,” the union said in a statement.
Safety of citizens remains the highest priority for the firefighters’ union, Wilson said.
“We believe our members have the right to a safe workplace while in the station or while responding to emergencies.”
Montgomery’s concerns are part of a larger issue for the city “considering the documented increase in violence and aggression toward first responders,” he said.
“When we became firefighters we accepted a responsibility to be a pillar of safety, meaning that we not only respond when incidents occur but we will also look out for those around us to avoid potential challenges or harm.”
Montgomery’s letter addressed social disorder in the city.
A paramedic was assaulted in July when trying to help a patient on Pandora Avenue in an incident that escalated to about 60 people swarming police and other first responders.
Firefighters and paramedics said afterward that they will not go to medical calls in that area until police are present.
Montgomery is also concerned about a planned centre for unhoused people on Dowler Place, close to his home.
Aislin Jackson, policy staff counsel at the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said Montgomery’s letter was a “very standard, quite inside-the-bounds of civility [and] political expression.
“And political expression is really at the core of freedom of expression and the protections we have for freedom of expression.”
The letter is a simple, straightforward political expression, she said.
Case law relating to Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms indicates that political expression is at the core of the guarantee of freedom of expression, Jackson said.
“That’s for a very good reason because political expression is so crucial for a democratic system.”
There’s a truth-seeking function to debate and dissent in a democracy, Jackson said.
It is based on the idea that the more information we have, the more different opinions can be discussed without harm to anyone, the better the result will be because options will have been thoroughly canvassed, she said.
“There’s also a value in making sure that participation in the political process is open to everybody as a member of our society.”
“We in general do not like to see employers penalize their employees for exercising their rights to political expression, for participating in the democratic process.”
The association hopes that all public entities will try to uphold charter values, she said.
In general, the association favours more debate and more democratic engagement.
“It’s a fundamental assumption that elected officials and our government officials generally need to be accountable to the public.”
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