HIS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

Definitions

1 In this Act:

"employer" has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Workers Compensation Act and, for certainty, includes a municipality, regional district or improvement district that provides a fire suppression service as a public service, whether or not other emergency services are provided to the public;

"firefighter" means a person who carries out any of the following duties, whether with or without remuneration, for an employer:

(a) fire suppression duties, whether or not those duties include the performance of other emergency services;

(b) investigation duties respecting the cause, origin or circumstances of a fire;

"improvement district" has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Schedule to the Local Government Act;

"joint committee" has the same meaning as in section 13 of the Workers Compensation Act;

"personal protective equipment" means equipment or clothing intended to be used or worn by a firefighter to minimize exposure to hazards that may cause injury or illness;

"PFAS" means a substance containing a perfluoroalkyl compound or a polyfluoroalkyl compound;

"PFAS-free", in relation to fire suppression foam or personal protective equipment, means that the foam or equipment is certified by a body approved by the minister to contain undetectable levels of PFAS;

"worker health and safety representative" has the same meaning as in section 13 of the Workers Compensation Act;

"WorkSafeBC" means the Board as defined in section 1 of the Workers Compensation Act.

Employer duties – PFAS-free fire suppression foam

2 An employer must, on or before December 31, 2025,

(a) provide PFAS-free fire suppression foam for use by firefighters in providing fire suppression services for the employer, and

(b) prohibit the use of fire suppression foam that contains PFAS by firefighters providing fire suppression services for the employer.

Employer duties – PFAS-free personal protective equipment

3 (1) An employer must provide personal protective equipment to each firefighter who provides fire suppression or fire investigation services for the employer.

(2) The employer must ensure that the following requirements are met:

(a) effective January 1, 2026, at least 25% of the personal protective equipment available to each firefighter, averaged over all types of equipment available to the firefighter, must be PFAS-free;

(b) effective January 1, 2027, at least 50% of the personal protective equipment available to each firefighter, averaged over all types of equipment available to the firefighter, must be PFAS-free;

(c) effective January 1, 2029, all personal protective equipment available to each firefighter must be PFAS-free.

Employer duties – safety protocols

4 (1) An employer must require a firefighter who provides fire suppression or fire investigation services for the employer to comply with the following protocols:

(a) the firefighter must not use or wear personal protective equipment that contains PFAS except when necessary to minimize exposure to hazards that may cause injury or illness;

(b) the firefighter must, on removing or ceasing to use personal protective equipment that contains PFAS, promptly

(i) shower, and

(ii) thoroughly wash the personal protective equipment;

(c) the firefighter must use PFAS-free personal protective equipment when handling, inspecting, repairing or washing personal protective equipment that contains PFAS;

(d) the firefighter must report to WorkSafeBC promptly if either of the following occurs:

(i) the firefighter inhales vapour from fire suppression foam containing PFAS;

(ii) the firefighter has dermal contact with fire suppression foam containing PFAS.

(2) This section is repealed on December 31, 2028.

Administrative penalties

5 (1) The minister may impose an administrative penalty on an employer if the minister is satisfied on a balance of probabilities that the employer has contravened this Act.

(2) An administrative penalty must not exceed the amount specified in, or determined in accordance with, the regulations.

(3) If the minister imposes an administrative penalty, the minister must give the employer a notice that specifies

(a) the contravention in relation to which the penalty is imposed,

(b) the amount of the penalty imposed,

(c) the date by which the penalty must be paid, and

(d) the employer's right to request a reconsideration under section 6.

(4) An employer on whom an administrative penalty is imposed must pay the administrative penalty within 60 days after

(a) the date the employer receives the notice under subsection (3), or

(b) if the employer requests a reconsideration under section 6, the date the employer receives notice of the minister's decision under section 6 (4) (c).

(5) If an administrative penalty is imposed on an employer, the employer must not be prosecuted under this Act in respect of the same facts and circumstances on which the minister based the administrative penalty.

Reconsideration

6 (1) In this section, "determination" means a determination by the minister, as set out in an administrative penalty notice under section 5 (3), of a contravention or of the amount of an administrative penalty.

(2) An employer who is subject to a determination may, within 30 days after receiving the administrative penalty notice, request the minister to reconsider the determination.

(3) An employer who requests reconsideration of a determination must

(a) post a copy of the request at the workplace to which the administrative penalty relates,

(b) provide a copy of the request to the joint committee or worker health and safety representative, as applicable, at the workplace, and

(c) if the workers at the workplace to which the administrative penalty relates are represented by a union, provide a copy of the request to the union.

(4) On receiving a request for reconsideration, the minister must

(a) reconsider the determination,

(b) confirm, vary or cancel the determination, and

(c) give notice of the minister's decision, with written reasons, to the employer.

Recovery of administrative penalty

7 (1) An administrative penalty may be recovered as a debt due to the government.

(2) If an employer fails to pay an administrative penalty as required under this Act, the minister may file a certificate in a court that has jurisdiction and, on filing, the certificate has the same force and effect, and all proceedings may be taken on it, as if it were a judgment of the court with which it is filed.

(3) A certificate under subsection (2) must

(a) be signed by the minister, and

(b) contain the following information:

(i) the name of the employer who is liable for the penalty;

(ii) the contravention in relation to which the penalty is imposed;

(iii) the amount of the penalty.

Offences and penalties

8 (1) An employer who contravenes this Act commits an offence and is liable on conviction to the following penalties:

(a) in the case of a first conviction,

(i) a fine not greater than $857 036.56 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not greater than $42 851.85 for each day during which the offence continues after the first day,

(ii) imprisonment for a term not longer than 6 months, or

(iii) both a fine and imprisonment;

(b) in the case of a subsequent conviction,

(i) a fine not greater than $1 714 073.09 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not greater than $85 703.66 for each day during which the offence continues after the first day,

(ii) imprisonment for a term not longer than 12 months, or

(iii) both a fine and imprisonment.

(2) Section 333 of the Workers Compensation Act applies with respect to the dollar amounts set out in subsection (1).

Regulations

9 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations referred to in section 41 of the Interpretation Act.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:

(a) respecting matters that must be considered by the minister in imposing an administrative penalty in a particular case;

(b) specifying a maximum amount for the purposes of section 5 (2) or respecting the manner of determining the amount.

(3) A regulation under this Act may do one or both of the following:

(a) make different regulations in relation to different classes of employers or circumstances;

(b) delegate a matter to or confer a discretion on the minister.

Commencement

10 This Act comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Explanatory Note

This Bill requires employers to provide PFAS-free fire suppression foam to firefighters of the employers, and to prohibit the use of fire suppression foam containing PFAS, by December 31, 2025. It also requires employers to transition to PFAS-free personal protective equipment by January 1, 2029, and provides for safety protocols to be followed until the transition is complete.