Group calls for for better pay, equipment for wildfire fighters

A firefighter battles a fire in Kamloops, B.C., on June 5, 2023. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

OTTAWA — Last May, when Jenny Saulnier was home alone with her dog in Nova Scotia while her son and husband were at hockey, she scrolled through social media and saw there was a house fire some nine kilometres from her home, and was assured she would be fine.

"I was safe where I was. I had no reason to worry that this would ever turn into a wildfire, let alone the mega-force wildfire that it turned into," she told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday morning.

Suddenly, she found herself racing for her life — until she was stopped in bumper-to-bumper traffic with a 911 operator saying she may need to leave by foot should the flames come closer to her.

"The Nova Scotia government let me down that day. Their lack of emergency readiness is something that I will never forget," she said, recalling how her family's possessions were burnt to a crisp, save for her son's prized hockey medal that was recovered later.

"Climate change is here, and it's fuelling the wildfires that threaten our homes, our families and our future. If we don't act, this kind of devastation will happen again and again," said Saulnier.

She and a group of firefighters and Indigenous Peoples are demanding the federal government better support Canada's wildfire fighters, warning that without action, more of them will leave the job as fire seasons become longer and more intense.

Harold Larson, a former wildfire fighter and a veteran firefighter from Vancouver, said working to fight wildfires is gruelling, yet there is little reward to entice people to return year after year.

"They're fighting an increasingly difficult battle to protect us," he said.

"The work is gruelling, dirty and physically punishing. While most Canadians are enjoying their summer vacations, firefighters are missing birthdays, anniversaries and precious times with people that they care about."

He said wildfire fighters are treated as seasonal workers, with low pay and a poor work-life balance, and should be treated better.

The group, led by platform My Climate Plan, will be meeting with cabinet ministers and opposition MPs to outline their priorities and present them with a petition signed by some 6,500 people.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, who they are scheduled to meet with, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

They want the federal government to provide wildfire fighters with equipment, more training and better pay — and to stop the climate change that is driving intense fire seasons by switching to clean energy sources.

Wildfires this summer were responsible for the evacuation of tens of thousands of people across the country, including in Jasper, Alta., where fire destroyed parts of the town.

"Wildfires are intensifying, causing billions in damage and threatening communities, ecosystems and public health,” said Adam Lynes-Ford, co-founder of My Climate Plan.

"Our firefighters are exhausted, they need at least double the resources. They risk everything to protect us; now we must support them."

And for Indigenous communities, who are already disproportionately affected by climate change, the federal government needs to support solutions created by them, and those that have been in place for thousands of years, said Rosalie Yazzie, a Syilx Okanagan Nation member and 2023 fire evacuee. That includes controlled burns to manage forests, and increased collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in emergency response and fire management.

"From a Syilx perspective, climate change threatens the very lifeblood of our territory. The warming waters endanger our sacred salmon, whose return is vital to our people, while increasingly destructive wildfires devastate the land that sustains all living beings," she said.

"The health of the land, the water, and the salmon are interconnected with our cultural survival, and we must act to protect these relationships for future generations.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.