Amendment to Wildfire Act

WHEREAS municipalities in British Columbia have, for many years, had bylaws in place that relate to the lighting, fueling or use of open fires in order to reduce the nuisance from smoke and reduce the risk of fire hazard; AND WHEREAS within regional districts, fire regulation bylaws do not apply throughout the entire extent of electoral areas as local volunteer fire departments do not have the authority to enforce against a breach of such bylaws over extensive areas of land outside their local jurisdictions; AND WHEREAS Section 4 of the Wildfire Act British Columbia and Section 3 of the Wildfire Act Regulation, B.C. Reg. 342005, provide that certain key sections of the Wildfire Act and the Wildfire Act Regulation do not apply inside the boundaries of a local government that has a bylaw that relates to the lighting, fueling or use of open fires; AND WHEREAS the provisions of the Wildfire Act should continue to apply and be enforceable by the Province even if a local government has its own bylaw that relates to the lighting, fueling or use of open fires as a local government bylaw may not cover the same matters as the Wildfire Act and the Wildfire Act Regulation and, in any event, regional districts do not have the jurisdiction to enact for themselves all provisions of the Wildfire Act and the Wildfire Act Regulation that would not apply within local government boundaries: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities request that the Province enact an amendment to the Wildfire Act to make it clear that the Wildfire Act and the Wildfire Act Regulation: a remain in force within the boundaries of a regional district electoral area jurisdiction even where the regional district electoral area may have enacted its own bylaw relating to the lighting, fueling or use of open fires; and b permit local bylaws relating to the lighting, fueling or use of open fires to be enacted provided that they are not in conflict with the Wildfire Act and Wildfire Act Regulation.