Whereas communities have written to the federal and provincial governments requesting that they empower local persons, those working with licensees, industry and contractors, Indigenous communities, ranchers and workers such as fire fighters, forestry workers, and all those that see the day-to-day issues and have front-line knowledge to provide feedback on the inconsistencies and shortcomings with regard to forest management and wildfire prevention in order to help bring about much-needed change; And whereas the Ontario government has assembled an All Hazards Agency that employs people to manage emergency events such as wildfires: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the provincial government to provide better forest management and wildfire protection by assessing current policies and guidelines to enhance those that are working to re-evaluate and change those that are not.
Ministry of Forests The BC government strongly supports efforts of local governments and First Nations to reduce wildfire risks in and around their communities by completing fuel management projects, developing Community Wildfire Resiliency Plans and implementing FireSmart principles. Budget 2022 includes the largest investment in the history of the BC Wildfire Service, which will help the organization transform into a year-round all natural hazards response operation. The Province is providing 145 million to strengthen BCs emergency management and wildfire services and 98 million to fund wildfire prevention work and maintain crucial forest service roads. An additional 90 million investment in community grants for the FireSmart program will help provide homeowners and communities to take actions to protect their homes and communities from the impacts of wildfire. BC Wildfire Service, First Nations Emergency Services Society, Emergency Management BC and Indigenous Services Canada are working to engage communities to determine community firefighting models to help small, remote, and Indigenous communities build capacity and better prepare for their increasing vulnerability to wildfire. Through the Forest Landscape Planning and Forest and Range Practices Act Improvement Initiative, the Ministry of Forests continues to modernize forest management policy, with wildfire risk reduction being a key component.