Chilliwack firefighter to have complaint heard by Human Rights Tribunal
By Contributor
A Chilliwack firefighter, battling to keep working, will have his complaint heard by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.
The City of Chilliwack had applied to have Russell Shellard’s application for a hearing dismissed.
At issue is Chilliwack’s policy of forcing firefighters to retire at 60.
Shellard received one exemption but the City of Chilliwack said his employment would end on Jan. 1, 2012.
There’s a grandfather clause that allows firefighters who joined the department before 1990 to be excluded from mandatory retirement at 60.
Chilliwack has 26 full-time firefighters currently active duty.
The city had planned on hiring four new full-time firefighters a year until there were 40 on staff, but has since introduced a hiring freeze.
