Declining Fire Department Services Across Alberta
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT Alberta Municipalities:
1. advocate to the Government of Canada to create a business tax credit for businesses that allow employees who are volunteer firefighters to attend calls during business hours; and
2. advocate to the Government of Canada to reinstate the Joint Emergency Preparedness Program.
WHEREAS small communities across Alberta rely on volunteers to serve as firefighters and first responders and therefore, having a sufficient number of volunteer firefighters is essential to the health and safety of each community;
WHEREAS businesses that employ volunteer firefighters do not currently receive a tax credit for doing so;
WHEREAS provincial Fire Services Training Program funding increases are necessary for small community firefighter training; and
WHEREAS the Government of Canada’s former Joint Emergency Preparedness Program (JEPP) for fire/emergency training and equipment is no longer available.
Over the past several months, there have been several instances where the Village of Mannville’s local fire department has not been able to respond to calls due to the dwindling numbers of volunteer members. In addition to the decline in members, there are several existing members that are unable to leave their place of employment to attend emergency calls.
The Government of Alberta (GOA) reinstated the Fire Services Training Grant (FSTP) in 2022 providing a maximum grant of $10,000 per application. The grant is to financially assist municipalities to ensure fire services are adequately trained to address the community’s risks and levels of service. It would be helpful if the overall program funding of $500,000 were increased to provide all municipalities opportunities to receive this funding, plus keep pace with inflationary increases in training costs.
The Federal Government cut the Joint Emergency Preparedness Program (JEPP) in 2013. The JEPP was used to fund major capital purchases for fire departments. Reinstating a modernized JEPP would reduce deferred equipment purchases due to fiscal pressures. This grant is imperative as the longer these purchases are deferred the higher the risk to community safety.
In its 2024-25 budget, the Government of Canada increased the Volunteer Firefighters Tax Credit from $3,000 to $6,000 to help support volunteer firefighters.
ABmunis has advocated on issues related to emergency management in the past. The provincial government and other organizations are undertaking reviews and working groups to improve wildfire response from numerous perspectives. If the resolution is passed, it will be forwarded to the Government of Canada for a response and further advocacy would be recommended to the ABmunis Board by the Infrastructure Committee within the context of related priorities and positions.