City's plan to combat strain on fire department isn't 'going to move the needle': union
CBC
The union representing firefighters in Winnipeg isn't satisfied with plans aimed at decreasing strain on the department outlined in the City of Winnipeg’s preliminary budget for 2026.
The city plans phase in what it’s calling 10 firefighter resource pool full time equivalents annually, with up to 40 FTEs by 2029, according to the preliminary budget documents released Friday.
Those firefighters won’t be assigned to a particular station, but will serve where needed and fill absences in an effort to reduce overtime, support training and enhance capacity, the city says.
“It doesn’t solve the problem,” said TJ Belluk, vice president of the United Firefighters of Winnipeg. “I think council knows that with this budget, all we’re doing really is repeating the cycle: We’re going to be short staffed, we’re going to need manpower and we’re going to be dipping into the overtime budget.”
On Monday, the city’s finance committee approved a $3 million over-expend of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service's 2025 operating budget.
A report tabled for the meeting said one of the reasons for the "overspend in fire” was the continued impact of Workers Compensation Board injury claims and the cost of payroll, medical expenses and WCB administration fees. The continued increase in staff absence, which “increases the need for overtime call-in in order to maintain firefighting shift strength," was also cited.
Speaking to reporters Friday, finance committee chair Jeff Browaty said the reality is there are more workers compensation claims and more short-term illnesses “because of what’s happening on the job.”
Browaty also said “a number of new firefighters” that were provincially funded were added a few years ago, but that still wasn’t enough.
“We didn’t see a real reduction post-COVID in terms of overtime and challenges with staffing at the Winnipeg Fire Paramedics Service,” said finance chair Jeff Browaty Friday afternoon.
“Mental health is real, the demographics of our employees have changed and the reality is, the staffing ratio hasn’t really kept up.”
He also said the idea for the model came through the recommendation of the fire department.
A city spokesperson said Friday the funding breakdown for the 10 FTEs wasn’t immediately available — it wasn’t in the budget document — but could be made available next week.
Belluk also said Friday the resource pool “isn’t going to move the needle much, if at all.”
Belluk said he would have wanted to see as many as 30 to 40 FTEs added annually.
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