Premier David Eby says proposal will be a key issue for expert task force he has formed to find ways of improving his government’s responses to natural disasters
British Columbia Premier David Eby says the province is strongly considering adopting Australia’s practice of incorporating local volunteers into efforts to defend communities from wildfire, and that this will be a key issue for a new expert task force he has formed to find ways of improving his government’s responses to natural disasters.
The new panel, he said, will be a mix of provincial bureaucrats and experts from industry and academia. Before the volunteers in Shuswap won the approval of the BC Wildfire Service, they faced official admonishment for ignoring orders as they worked to save their farms and businesses in the rural, mountainous region, roughly a five-hour drive northeast of Vancouver. Initially, wildfire officials said the residents who had remained were putting first responders at risk. Bowinn Ma, the provincial minister in charge of emergency response, said they were breaking the law.