The most recent administrative report to Winnipeg’s Standing Policy Committee on Finance and Economic Development confirms what frontline firefighters have been warning for years: Winnipeg’s fire service is running on overtime.

According to the City’s own numbers, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) is forecast to exceed its 2025 operating budget by $7.47 million, including $6.9 million in fire overtime and $6 million in Workers Compensation Board (WCB) costs. That’s not a temporary blip — it’s part of a long-term trend of structural underfunding masked by expensive overtime.

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In 2009, the City’s audit department highlighted that insufficient staffing was the primary driver of overtime, indicating it would be cheaper to hire than to rely on premium pay.

In 2018

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