Canada and Nova Scotia Announce Major Investment in Wildfire Equipment and Enhance Wildfire Resilience

HALIFAX, NS, Oct. 2, 2024 /CNW/ - With wildfires increasing in frequency and severity across Canada — impacting our health, economies, communities and wildlife — the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia are supporting Canadians and Nova Scotians whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by wildfires.

Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, with the Honourable Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables, announced a joint investment of nearly $30 million over five years under the Government of Canada's Fighting and Managing Wildfires in a Changing Climate Program (FMWCC) – Equipment Fund and the Resilient Communities through FireSmart (RCF) Program.

A joint investment of $25.6 million through the FMWCC – Equipment Fund is supporting Nova Scotia's efforts to purchase wildfire firefighting equipment such as helicopters, fire trucks, communication vehicles, incident command trailers, weather monitoring stations, technology upgrades, personal protective equipment and more. This investment increases Nova Scotia's response capacity by buying and upgrading specialized firefighting equipment and training more personnel to support surge capacity needs. This investment will further enhance safety for communities and firefighters and improve wildfire resource sharing across Canada.

This funding also builds on last year's contribution of $169,292 to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) to deliver wildfire firefighter training to Indigenous participants from several Mi'kmaq communities throughout Nova Scotia. The contribution came from Natural Resource Canada's (NRCan) FMWCC – Training Fund, which provides support primarily to Indigenous communities and organizations to train firefighters and increase NRCan's understanding of the needs and barriers in this space. Staff from the CIFFC and the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables have delivered this training to 21 Mi'kmaw firefighters in 2023.

Through the RCF Program, Nova Scotia and NRCan will invest up to $3.9 million over five years aimed at preparing for wildfires, reducing risks before they occur and expanding the adoption of FireSmart principles and practices in Nova Scotia. With this funding, Nova Scotia will deliver educational and awareness activities related to wildfire prevention and community-based risk reduction. Nova Scotia is also using the funding to increase capacity to conduct wildfire risk assessments and develop tools to support wildfire prevention and mitigation. This initial investment is part of a series of joint investments aimed at supporting provincial and territorial efforts to advance FireSmart principles and practices to prevent wildfires and mitigate their impacts.

While reinforcing our country's ability to respond to wildfires when they occur is essential, proactive investment will also help reduce risks before a wildfire happens. The federal government has invested in both areas by supporting fire agencies across the country to better prepare for and respond to wildfires and by implementing community-level measures to prevent and reduce the impacts of wildfires.

Keeping Canadians safe and healthy is a top priority for the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia. By working with provinces, territories, Indigenous communities and international allies, the federal government continues to address and support the fight against wildfires to protect Canadian lives, as well as the health, safety, homes and livelihoods of our communities across the country.

Quotes

"The Government of Canada is providing provinces, territories and partners with the support they need to address the challenges posed by wildfires. Today's announcement with the Government of Nova Scotia highlights our commitment to working together to mitigate and respond to wildfires through the FMWCC Program and the promotion of FireSmart Canada as a national program. Through tangible and fast-flowing funding, the Government of Canada is helping for future challenges and longer, more intense wildfire seasons."

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

"We had our worst wildfire season in recorded history last year, and we don't want to ever see that kind of devastation again. We know that wildfire is one of our top climate change risks, and we're taking action to both prevent and prepare for them. Through agreements with our federal partners, we're investing in equipment — including replacing our fleet of four helicopter water bombers — and we're stepping up our prevention measures to help keep our people and our communities safe."

The Honourable Tory Rushton
Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables.

Quick Facts

• The FMWCC – Equipment Fund was launched in 2022 to proactively invest in and support provincial and territorial fire agencies' efforts in strengthening fire management capacities and capabilities across the country. By facilitating the purchase of firefighting equipment, such as fire crew trucks and personal protective equipment, the fund aims to increase capacity to respond to wildfires.
• Under Natural Resources Canada's FMWCC – Equipment Fund, provinces and territories must cost-share investments with the Government of Canada for equipment, such as vehicles, mobile units, avionics upgrades (parts), hoses, pumps and enhanced communications equipment, and for the repair of aging equipment and training.
• The FMWCC – Training Fund is providing $28 million over five years, starting in 2022–23, to train 1,000 firefighters and incorporate traditional knowledge in fire management. The fund includes a two-year Wildfire Training Pilot that ended in 2023–24 valued at $8.2 million, resulting in a total of 10 projects that mainly supported Indigenous organizations and communities. Over the next three years, starting in 2024–25, the Wildfire Training Fund has $16.8 million available to support successful applicants under the Call for Applications, which ended in February 2024.
• FireSmart Canada, a national program within the CIFFC, empowers Canadians to increase neighborhood resilience to wildfires and minimize their negative impacts. It offers resources, programs and recommendations designed to help individuals, landscape planners, forest managers and others protect homes and communities from wildfires.
• Visit Canada.ca/wildfires for a complete list of links to various federal supports for individuals impacted by wildfires.

Related products

• Canadian Wildland Fire Information System: Monthly and Seasonal Forecasts
• Canadian Wildland Fire Strategy
• Fighting and Managing Wildfires in a Changing Climate Program
• WildFireSat: Enhancing Canada's ability to manage wildfires
• Wildfire Resilient Futures Initiative
• Wildfires -– Canada.ca
• Canada's National Adaptation Strategy: Building Resilient Communities and a Strong Economy

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SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

Contacts: Natural Resources Canada, Media Relations, 343-292-6100, [email protected]; Cindy Caturao, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, 613-795-5638, [email protected]; Patricia Jreige, Communications advisor, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, 902-718-7866, [email protected]