An Ontario fire chief who lost his job over a new rule that deemed him one year too old for the position is threatening a $1.7-million lawsuit against the town that passed the rule.
Guy Longtin was forced to resign last week after the town council in Renfrew, Ont. passed a rule that forced all firefighters in the town to retire by age 60.
Longtin is 61.
The town’s reeve is standing by its decision. But Longtin, who worked on the force for 26 years, alleges the new rule was passed to target him for filing a harassment complaint against Renfrew’s mayor last year.
Longtin has given the town a clear ultimatum: hire him back, or face legal action.
“This is about standing up for my rights, standing up for the rights of people who don’t have a voice,” he told CTV Ottawa on Friday.
Longtin’s lawyer issued a letter to Renfrew’s mayor demanding that his client be given his job back by noon Friday. That deadline has since been changed to next Wednesday.
The letter states that Longtin planned to keep his job until age 70. It also sets out conditions the town would need to meet to reinstate him.
The community’s reeve, Peter Emon, said council stands behind the rule.
“We feel comfortable that we reviewed all the information available to us at the time and acted in accordance with the law,” Emon said.
In 2011, Ontario passed a law giving municipalities the power to set age restrictions for frontline firefighters.
In this case, Renfrew is extending that law to include fire chiefs. The town says that, due to the small size of its force, the chief is sometimes called to manage active fire scenes and could face the same risks as frontline firefighters.
Longtin said he is only called to attend fires two or three times each year.
“Is it stressful to the point where it’s detrimental to my heart, my health? I don’t think so. I’ve never had an issue with my heart, I’ve never had an issue with my health,” he said.
“If they don’t reinstate me, we are going to litigation over this.”
Renfrew town officials met with their legal counsel Friday to discuss next steps. They plan to release a statement next week.
In the meantime, the town has appointed an acting fire chief and plans to fill the position permanently by September.
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Claudia Cautillo
