Most Canadians and their communities are provided with legally mandated fire prevention and protection services based on standards established through complimentary federal and provincial legislative frameworks.

First Nations communities are the exclusive responsibility of the Government of Canada but there is no legislative framework to mandate fire prevention and protection standards in these communities, which represent a population base of more than 600,000.

The CAFC and the Aboriginal Firefighters Association of Canada  long advocated for:

1. The introduction of federal legislation to apply federal or provincial building and fire codes to First Nations communities.
2.  The federal government to create a legislative framework mandating fire inspections, an enforcement protocol to address code infractions and the process of conducting fire investigations, to be introduced in a stepwise and strategic fashion.
3. The federal government to provide AFAC with the appropriate capacity and mandate to carry out these inspections through regional First Nations partners.
4. Continue to fund the creation of an independent Indigenous Fire Marshall Service under the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council (NIFSC) which is housed within the Aboriginal Firefighters Association of Canada’s corporate structure.

In May 2018, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett announced an agreement in principle for the formation of an Indigenous federal fire marshal’s office.

Read the CAFC’s submission to the federal government.

Read the committees resulting report: From the Ashes.