An Edmonton firefighter who died from esophageal cancer last weekend was honoured with a parade Saturday; however fellow firefighters feel a more fitting tribute would be for the province to cover the rare cancer under presumptive legislation.

Family, friends and firefighters from across Canada stood side by side as a ceremonial parade honouring the life of Al Harris passed by in downtown Edmonton Saturday afternoon.

The firefighter, who was affectionately known as 'Rainbow' by his colleagues, had 30 years of experience when he died from esophageal cancer last Saturday.

"He was the type of guy that was always able to motivate and more importantly he kept an eye on your back," said friend and co-worker Brad Hoekstra. "He was always there looking after everybody."

The Edmonton Firefighters Union is now pushing to have the cancer that killed Harris added to a list of eight others that the province covers under presumptive legislation.

"It's probably our number one focus right now," said Craig MacDonald, the president of the Alberta Firefighters Association.

When a firefighter contracts any of the eight cancers covered by the province they and their families receive compensation.

Esophageal cancer is covered by workers compensation legislation in Manitoba and Ontario, but no such compensation exists in Alberta.

"There's no doubt in science that esophageal cancer is part of the profession of firefighting," said Alex Forrest, the president of the Canadian chapter of the International Association of Firefighters.

During his fight with esophageal cancer, Harris also fought to have the rare disease covered by the province; while he'll no longer be able to carry on that fight his fellow firefighters say they'll carry on the torch.

"This is just a tribute to what a great person he was, so I believe he'd be really proud of what we're doing for him today," said Hoekstra.

With files from Bill Fortier