Montreal | Firefighters in need of candidates for officer positions

The Montreal Fire Department (SIM) lacks candidates for its officer positions, which explains in particular the increase of $19.3 million in expenses caused by overtime in 2022, i.e. double what was intended.

The SIM ends the year with expenditures of 400.6 million, while the planned budget was 362.8 million, according to the documents filed with the Commission on Finance and Administration of the City of Montreal.

These excess expenditures are mainly due to anti-COVID-19 measures at the start of the year, which prevented firefighters from changing stations to make replacements, explained the director of the SIM, Richard Liebmann, to the members of the commission Tuesday. In case of absence, a colleague from the same barracks had to work overtime.

The SIM now has 120 “floating” firefighters, who can change shifts to meet needs, which will reduce overtime, Liebmann said.

The other problem that increases the expenses is that there are not 186 firefighters with the necessary training to replace the lieutenants in their absence.

Many failures

To hold an officer position, a firefighter must pass an exam. But the failure rate is 60 to 65%, according to the Montreal Firefighters Association.

“There are not enough eligible firefighters to replace the officers, we have to ask other lieutenants or captains to work overtime”, explains Chris Ross, president of the union.

The fire chief confirms the problem. “There is more and more material to study, and we have to be demanding. There is no question of making the exam easier, because these people literally have lives in their hands,” said Richard Liebmann in a telephone interview.

To support candidates before this exam, the SIM offers an officer development program and coaching, he said. He wants this program to increase the pass rate to reduce overtime.

The SIM wants to reduce overtime by 2.6 million in 2023, its budget documents show.

The department has 1,794 firefighter positions, including 225 for employees who can fill the rank of lieutenant, as well as 284 lieutenant positions and 264 captain positions.

Restricted access to senior officials

The Press interviewed the fire chief two days after he appeared before the commission, after insistent requests.

However, our requests for an interview with the director of the Montreal Police Service, with the city’s general manager and with the directors of several municipal departments were refused.

Since 1^er December, directors of all departments parade before the Committee on Finance and Administration to explain their expenses.

Before the pandemic, journalists generally had the opportunity to ask questions directly to senior officials on this occasion.

This is now impossible: the City’s communications department imposes a form on the media to ask their questions, which then receive written answers, within a period varying from a few hours to a few days.

This is the only time senior civil servants are publicly accountable for their management. Citizens can ask them questions directly, at City Hall or online.

The opposition denounced this lack of transparency of the administration. “The form made available to the media is problematic. It allows the administration to filter the questions and control the message,” lamented opposition leader Aref Salem.

The president of the Professional Federation of Journalists of Quebec, Michaël Nguyen, also protested against this practice. “At a time when transparency has never been more important, journalists must be given access to senior officials, who know their files and are best placed to talk about them. This would improve public confidence in the institutions,” he stressed.