Could be first 'double hatter' in North America to be convicted
Mary Vallis and Melanie Béchard
National Post, with files from news services
Saturday, November 09, 2002
A firefighter in Whitby, Ontario may lose his job for fighting fires in his spare time.
The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) says Timothy Lee may be expelled from the union after Nov. 19 if he continues to serve as a volunteer fireman in the Kawarthas, where he lives. Mr. Lee, 33, is believed to be the first "double hatter" in North America to be convicted by union brothers of volunteering.
Mr. Lee said many professional firefighters start out volunteering in their home communities, just as he did. He volunteered for two years before being hired for his first paid job in Mississauga in 1996.
"This is an opportunity to give back to your community," he explained. "Fire departments are like a big family and we don't like leaving family."
The case has highlighted a bitter feud that has been raging between professional and volunteer firefighters for years.
Each side claims to have public safety in its corner: The professional union says the work of its paid members will suffer if they turn up fatigued after responding to emergency calls on their own time. Rural communities, on the other hand, say that their volunteer forces' ability to respond to emergencies would be compromised without help from thousands of professional firefighters who lend a hand.
Each side also insists the other is truly motivated by money. The union says most two hatters volunteer because it is an easy way to make extra money.
Mr. Lee earns about $53,000 annually as a firefighter in Whitby. He said he expects to make $1,000 this year volunteering in the Kawarthas, where he makes about $17 an hour responding to emergency calls. He and his supporters say the union is trying to strong-arm small communities into hiring salaried firefighters.
"The IAFF is trying to expand their membership," said Ted Arnott, a Conservative backbencher who is pushing a private members' bill at Queen's Park with hopes of ending the controversy.
"By weakening some of these small, rural fire departments, they hope that it will make it easier for them to set up full-time, professional fire departments."
Mr. Arnott's bill, which narrowly passed second reading in June, will allow professional firefighters to volunteer without fear of losing their jobs. It has the support of dozens of municipalities and the association representing fire chiefs.
"We need a legislated solution to this," said Pat Vanini of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. "There are lots of benefits of having double hatters. Benefits to the rural municipality include knowledge, training, skills and leadership."
The IAFF insists that there is no room for debate in Mr. Lee's case. Just like doctors and lawyers, paid firefighters must swear an oath when they are hired. The group's constitution states members must not work in secondary employment as a paid, on-call firefighter, said Jim Lee, an assistant to the president of the IAFF's Canadian operations.
"Tim Lee stood up in front of the membership in Mississauga, to start out with, and then the membership in Whitby, and swore an oath to uphold that constitution -- knowing full well he was in violation of that constitution," said Mr. Lee, who is not related to Timothy Lee.
"What kind of man does that? If he felt that strong about it, if he had the moral conviction that he wanted to be a volunteer or a paid, on-call firefighter, then he shouldn't have sworn the oath to the constitution."
Mr. Lee, the firefighter at the centre of the debate, returned to the Whitby firehouse yesterday for his first paid shift since the decision in his case. The firefighters on their way off duty were all wearing new blue T-shirts picturing a valiant firefighter emerging from flames with the slogan, "It's not a hobby." On the back of each shirt, in bold red letters, were the words "Union firefighter."
On a handmade calendar in the training room, he discovered someone was crossing off the 14 days between when the decision was handed down and when he could face expulsion from the union.
Mr. Lee said he will appeal the ruling and plans take the case as far as it will go.
"It's my belief that our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms shouldn't allow this to happen. Irregardless of the legislation that's in development right now, we certainly enjoy fundamental rights and freedoms that were fought for by our forefathers, one of those being the freedom to associate," said the father of three.
"Do you let personal security be a compromise for your personal freedoms?
It's a very tough decision to make. I wrestled with it ... but I couldn't look my children in the face and say, 'Hey, your world is full of opportunity' knowing there are a lot of things being taken away.
"This isn't one of them that I want to let go."
