\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"BORIS](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4062131_web1_WFFS-badge.jpeg\"){kind=icon}
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
BORIS MINKEVICH \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
The union that represents Winnipeg firefighters has voted to join the Manitoba Federation of Labour.<\/p>\n
The firefighters union and labour lobby group have joined forces in the past and now the arrangement is permanent.<\/p>\n
The arrangement will help the union lobby the provincial government and work with the province\u2019s biggest unions. The federation represents more than 130,000 unionized workers across the province.<\/p>\n
Response times continue to be slow and fire rates continue to be high in Winnipeg, Kasper said. He hopes to work with the federation for more prevention and education on issues facing firefighters.<\/p>\n
Kasper\u2019s first order of business is to call for amendments to the Workers Compensation Act to better support firefighters who develop cancer and other diseases as a consequence of the job, as well as address the root causes of high call volumes.<\/p>\n
Fire crews battled four fires across Winnipeg on Friday, which Kasper said is an unsustainable number.<\/p>\n
Five people have died in city house fires since Jan. 1.<\/p>\n
A report submitted to the city in January showed emergency personnel made 576 visits to encampments for fire-safety purposes in 2025 and responded to 543 fires involving homeless people.<\/p>\n
Data from the union released last year shows the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service responded to more calls per capita than any other jurisdiction in Canada.<\/p>\n
WFPS responded to, on average, 169 calls for service per 1,000 people in 2024. Vancouver\u2019s call volume was the second-highest at 108 calls per 1,000 people and Calgary was third with 56 calls for service per 1,000 people.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has just somehow become normalized in Winnipeg, and we\u2019re an extreme outlier across the country, and we shouldn\u2019t be accepting it as normal anymore,\u201d Kasper said.<\/p>\n
The union will join the executive council of the Manitoba Federation of Labour and be able to send members to sit on different committees and participate in federation events and conferences.<\/p>\n
The federation is now one union closer to representing every labour group in the province, said president Kevin Rebeck. Only a handful of unions in Manitoba are not part of the group.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just shows that the labour movement is alive and well,\u201d he said. \u201cWe continue to have very strong relationships with the ones who aren\u2019t with us and continue to speak with one good voice for labour.\u201d<\/p>\n
nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Nicole Buffie Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College\u2019s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom as a multimedia producer in 2023. Read more about Nicole<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Multimedia producer
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n