Pour la version en français, veuillez appuyer ici.

 

In the Federal Government’s Let’s Talk Budget 2023 consultation, Canadians are asked how to strengthen and grow the economy; help Canadians succeed; support Canadian innovation; and build an economy that works for everyone. These questions assume that Canada can and will prevent, respond, mitigate and recover from emergencies that disrupt life as we know it. Our recommendations help ensure this assumption is met.

Two months ago, the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC), which represents Canada’s 3,200 fire departments and their approximately 126,000 career and volunteer firefighters, released the results of the Great Canadian Fire Census. Close to 700 fire departments representing the fire and emergency service areas for 24M Canadians responded to the survey. The data reflected all provinces and territories, and included all major cities as well as rural and remote areas

 

Recommendations

That the Federal Government:

1. Increase the volunteer firefighter tax credit from $3,000 to $10,000 and modernize the CRA definition of volunteer firefighter to help retain firefighters.

2. Create a fund to update fire/emergency training and equipment, with net new monies (a modernized version of the former Joint Emergency Preparedness Program).

3. Integrate FireSmart and Indigenous Wildfire Practices through Fire Departments

4. Support the recommendations of Indigenous Fire Safety and community leaders to ensure that working smoke alarms are in every home in Indigenous communities.

5. As part of the criteria for housing built with and through federal affordable housing incentives require pre-planning with local fire departments.

6. Dedicate resources to complete the design of a governance model for a Public Safety Broadband Network in Canada for public safety communications.

7. Provide interim funding to the Canadian Institute of Public Safety Research and Treatment and strengthen its governance and decision-making structure.

8. Create a Canadian equivalent of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency and the US Fire Administration and invest $2M in the existing CAFC database to unite all fire departments.

We welcome and encourage members to share the brief with your federal MP, staff and partners. It is available in English and French.

 

Please read our submission here. It has been submitted to the Minister of Finance.