PAGE 26 Thursday, November 2, 2023 MERIDIAN SOURCE
Careers
Increased cancer coverage coming for fire fighters in Sask
File Photo MERIDIAN SOURCE STAFF
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On Tuesday, amendments were introduced to The Workers’ Compensation Act, 2013 in Saskatchewan that will see presumptive coverage for six new types of cancer. This will bring the presumptive coverage to 22 types of cancer; the most of any Cana-
dian jurisdiction. This coverage would include: primary site penile cancer; - primary site pancreatic cancer; - primary site thyroid cancer; - primary site soft tissue sarcoma; - primary site mesothelioma; and - primary site laryn-
geal cancer. “Firefighters face risks and hazards every day as they work to keep citizens and our communities safe,” said Labour Relations and Workplace Safety Minister Don McMorris. “Providing additional coverage for occupational cancers is an important way we can help support firefighters
and their families.” “I am pleased with the government’s choice to expand firefighter cancer coverage,” Saskatchewan Firefighters and Paramedics Association President Lloyd Zwack said. “This will have a positive impact on the long-term health of firefighters.” Other amendments
introduced to the Act include: - changing the definition of worker to remove executive officers and include secondary and post-secondary students in recognized programs as well as the ability to add other categories of workers in the regulations; - amending the privacy provisions to (1) mirror The Health Information Protection Act; (2) provide for administrative penalties if a privacy breach occurs; and (3) simplify the process for releasing information during reconsideration or review of a decision on compensation claims; - requiring all appeal tribunal decisions with rationale to be published; - covering the expenses associated
with transporting a deceased worker’s body to the usual residence outside Canada; - providing compensation to a worker’s dependent children when the worker passes away from a non-workrelated injury while on compensation no matter the length of time on compensation; - simplifying the medical review panel process; - increasing the permanent functional impairment award over four years and indexing afterward; and - indexing the independence allowance. “These legislative amendments will help ensure the workers’ compensation legislation is current and address concerns from employers and injured workers and their families,” said McMorris.
Sask green lights physician assistant training program MERIDIAN SOURCE STAFF
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Saskatchewan will establish a Physician Assistant training program in the province. The government has asked the University of Saskatchewan’s College
of Medicine to develop a new two-year Physician Assistant Master’s program to begin in fall 2025. “This is a unique opportunity to provide new training here in the province that will be
customized to meet the needs of Saskatchewan people,” said Advanced Education Minister Gordon Wyant. “The physician assistant program will be specifically designed to meet critical needs in
our health care system, particularly in rural and remote areas.” Newly introduced to Saskatchewan as a health profession for the first time, physician assistants will soon be joining health
care teams to help provide enhanced care and strengthen the health system. Physician assistants practice medicine under the supervision of a licensed physician, often within a multidisciplinary health team. They provide services in primary care, long-term care, emergency medicine, cancer care, general internal medicine and surgical specialties. “As the newest members of team-based health care in Saskatchewan, we look forward to physician assistants making valuable contributions to timely, high-quality health care and enhancing patient access to health services,” said Health Minister Everett Hindley. “We are now hiring in the province for these positions and adding this training program means more opportunity for Saskatchewan residents to build a career right here at home.”
File Photo Twelve physician assistant positions will be available in communities across the province. Current opportunities are posted on HealthCareersInSask.ca. Funding for the new training program will be finalized through the 2024-25 Provincial Budget process. The province continues to explore the potential for other healthcare training program expansions. For more information on healthcare training initiatives, visit saskatchewan.ca/hhr-train.
