Canada should consider a national firefighting force that could deploy quickly anywhere provinces or territories request help, according to two scientists in B.C.
The idea was floated this week by a wildfire expert at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C., in the Interior — about 171 kilometres northwest of Kelowna — who argued it currently takes too long to get help from out-of-province or other countries.
“The military has been called in a number of times,” said science professor Mike Flannigan, who is the B.C. Innovation Research Chair in Predictive Services, Emergency Management and Fire Science.
“I don’t think this is sustainable for us to use the Canadian military every year. If we had trained national force, we could use them preemptively instead of reactively like we tend to do now.”
But the federal government said that idea is not on the table, at least not yet, and that firefighting falls under provincial and territorial powers — while Ottawa is focusing on funding, training, equipment and research.
“There’s no specific discussion about a dedicated national force,” said Michael Norton, director with Natural Resources Canada’s Canadian Forest Centre, at a technical briefing to reporters Friday in North Vancouver.
B.C. Wildfire Service crews receive a helicopter briefing before flying out to a site in the Vanderhoof-Fort St. James fire complex. Wildfire expert Mike Flannigan says it currently takes too long to get firefighting help from other provinces or countries. (Tom Popyk/CBC News)
“Our system of firefighting is based primarily on provincial and territorial responsibility for public lands.
“I don’t want to convey that anything is off the table … Any idea might might surface as being viable and desirable by the various jurisdictions.”
He said there will be a review with provinces and territories of lessons learned from this year’s fire season once it ends.
However, although Flannigan agreed firefighting would normally be a provincial area of authority, “we’re in uncharted territory,” he said.
That’s because this year’s record-breaking wildfire season has seen roughly 134,000 square kilometres burned, six times worse than the 10-year average in any one year.
That is nearly double the previous record of 76,000 square kilometres that burned in 1989.
“Currently we spend $1 billion [annually] … 2023 is going to exceed $1 billion, I’ll tell you that right now,” Flannigan said.
“And this is only going to increase with time as we see more and more fires.”
Harjit Sajjan, Canada’s minister of emergency preparedness, said the country already has “sufficient resources to manage the wildfires.”
“I understand how important it is to have the capacity necessary to fight increasingly frequent, unpredictable, and intense wildfires,” Sajjan said in a statement to CBC News on Friday, adding the Canadian Armed Forces remain ready to deploy when requested by provinces.
Prevention and mitigation
Another fire expert questioned whether a fire response squadron would address the real problem of wildfires — preventing the worst dangers by removing fuels to burn near communities.
Wildland fire ecologist and consultant Robert Gray told CBC News he would rather see that approach, and praised Ottawa’s emphasis on Indigenous and community-level fire prevention efforts.
The Eagle Bluff wildfire is seen burning from Anarchist Mountain, outside of Osoyoos, B.C., in this July 29, 2023 handout photo. Canada’s record-breaking wildfire season has seen roughly 134,000 square kilometres burned, six times worse than the 10-year average in any one year. (Michelle Genberg/The Canadian Press)
“Should we focus on response?” Gray, in Kimberley, B.C. — about 168 kilometres west of the border with Alberta — told CBC News on Friday.
“Everyone is telling us we have to pivot to mitigation and prevention.
“More people, yes — but more people to do that front-end work dealing with fuels, preparing communities and infrastructure, so that they can survive and be resistant to fire.”
‘Frequency and intensity’ of wildfires is higher: Wilkinson
4 days ago
Duration 0:50
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced more funding for wildfire prevention and said the natural phenomenon is happening more because of climate change.
He said unlike the U.S., which has tens of thousands of personnel already scattered across the country, having Ottawa take on such a role “would be a little bit tougher.”
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) currently helps provinces co-ordinate wildfire response, training and mutual aid.
A spokesperson said the centre “hopes that all options are on the table following this wildfire season,” but could not comment on specific proposals.
Looking to Australia
The idea of a new national firefighting force has gained support from another scientist, biologist Richard Cannings.
The Member of Parliament for South Okanagan—West Kootenay told CBC News he wants Ottawa to closely consider Flannigan’s proposal.
It would bring Canada in line with similar fire-impacted countries, such as Australia. Cannings said such an initiative could reduce financial and staffing stress on regional wildfire services, and increase the efficiency by which provinces can respond quickly to new fires.
Air crews are pictured supporting efforts to fight the Donnie Creek wildfire. Biologist Richard Cannings told CBC News he wants Ottawa to consider the idea of a national firefighting force. (B.C. Wildfire Service)
“This is what we’re going to be living [with] for the next decades and centuries to come,” he told CBC News. “So let’s get prepared for it.
“It would be better to train up a national force and get them into the right place at the right time … a civilian force that we could use across the country.”
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
