A landmark decision out of Sudbury has reaffirmed what workers, PSAC and other unions have been saying for years: occupational mental injuries are as real, and as deadly, as any physical hazard on the job. 

In October, an arbitrator ruled that the death of a Sudbury firefighter qualifies as an accidental death under his collective agreement. The decision found that the employer violated its obligations by purchasing an Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance policy that excluded coverage for suicide, despite the well-established recognition that PTSD is an occupational illness for firefighters. 

Accidental death 

The arbitrator concluded that the death by suicide was an “accidental death” under the collective agreement because he developed PTSD through workplace exposures — exposures no firefighter reasonably expects or chooses. The decision draws a direct link between traumatic work environments, mental illness, and suicide, and rejects outdated, stigmatizing assumptions that treat suicide as a purely intentional act outside the scope of workplace responsibility. 

This ruling aligns with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board’s recognition that PTSD and suicide can be compensable workplace injuries for firefighters. While WSIB accepted the PTSD claim and granted survivor benefits, the insurer initially denied AD&D coverage because the employer purchased a policy that excluded suicide. The arbitrator found that exclusion to be a breach of the collective agreement. 

By excluding suicide from its AD&D policy, the employer effectively excluded coverage for a known, documented workplace hazard in the fire sector: death resulting from occupational PTSD. 

What now? 

This decision is not just an important precedent for firefighters. It reinforces a broader truth that applies across every sector PSAC represents. Workplace hazards include psychological hazards. Occupational illnesses include mental illnesses. Employers have a legal obligation to prevent them. 

Workers in high-stress, high-trauma, or high-risk environments deserve the same protections whether the harm is physical or psychological, including: 

• proper recognition of mental injuries as workplace injuries; 
• access to adequate benefits and supports; 
• Safe staffing levels and manageable workloads 
• training, prevention measures, and employer accountability; 
• collective agreements that reflect evolving understandings of workplace health and safety. 

Workplace deaths are preventable. The trauma workers endure may be inevitable, but workplace deaths should not be. Systems at work are meant to protect workers. 

PSAC will continue to challenge outdated policies, fight for comprehensive protections, and demand that employers treat mental health as the workplace safety issue it is. Because every worker deserves to come home safe, in body and in mind.