Whereas capital and non-operational funding for search and rescue SAR in BC is not consistent, equitable, or rationally allocated and SAR organizations bear the large administrative burden of applying to myriad sources, including local governments, on an annual basis; And whereas a 2012 Coroners Inquest jury recommended that Emergency Management BC EMBC review and evaluate funding models to better support SAR operations, and in 2013 the BC Search and Rescue Association recommended a new funding model to EMBC that would provide adequate, predictable and sustainable funding through the establishment and management of a provincial fund: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the Province to support the BC Search and Rescue Associations proposal for the development of a provincial SAR fund, and that the Province undertake necessary consultation with local governments and other stakeholders to develop, establish, and implement the fund as soon as possible.
Emergency Management BC On January 27, 2016, the Province announced 10 million in one-time funding to help bolster training, administrative support and equipment renewals to the BC Search and Rescue Association BCSARA, subject to passage of Bill 10, Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2016. The province is working with BCSARA to investigate proposed alternate funding models for the delivery of search and rescue services. Subsequent to that joint investigation, appropriate next steps will be assessed.