(Ottawa) Ottawa must stop studying the idea of a national coordination agency in the event of forest fires and must take action, believes the Canadian association of firefighters.
“We will call it as they want. We only need to be started, ”says the organization president Ken McMullen.
The Canadian Association of Firefighters (APCP) wants Canada to inspire a component from the American disaster management agency, known by its acronym FEMA, rather than reproducing the entire.
“FEMA is a big, big, large machine that gives hundreds of millions of dollars and programs. […] Our model is much simpler, less expensive, ”says McMullen.
More specifically, the ACCP requests that the federal government has a fire administration office, a Canadian version of the “US Fire Administrator”.
This office, which could be made up of one to two people, would make sure that the dispersion of personnel and equipment is appropriate across the country in the event of forest fires. This office would also allow security and fire services to be at the discussion table about government policies which may indirectly have an impact on fires.
Mr. McMullen gives as an example Ottawa’s desire to accelerate the construction of housing. “We hear things like” we have to build more, we have to build faster and at a lower cost “. What we do not hear, we, the firefighters is that we have to build to reduce the risks, ”he deplores.
The Canadian government has been studying for over two years the possibility of creating an intervention or coordination agency in the event of disasters. The reflection began in the wake of the record season of forest fires which occurred in the summer of 2023. The year 2025 could also move to history as one of the worst on the light.
“It is predictable and it is possible to do prevention differently. So we have to do a better job and there is no question of carrying out studies. The information is already there. We only have to activate and make decisions, ”says McMullen, who is also a chief firefighter in Red Deer, Alberta.
According to him, the holding of the recent federal elections and the entry of the stage of a new Prime Minister who barely trained his government a few months ago, led to deadlines.
The ACCP has not yet met the new Minister of Emergency Management, Eleanor Olszewski, but has exchanged with its office.
The Ministry of Public Security has told the Canadian press that Minister Olszewski “will collaborate closely with her office colleagues to explore and advance options to improve coordination and intervention capacity at the federal level”.
In the past two years, Ottawa has studied various models around the world and has encountered emergency management experts, it said. “These preliminary discussions have revealed that any solution must reflect the realities of the Canadian Federation, including the leadership of the provinces, territories, local authorities and indigenous governments regarding the management of emergency situations, can be read. The work carried out to date makes it possible to define the approach developed by the current government. »»
Under the former government of Justin Trudeau, Mr. McMullen was able to discuss repeatedly with the ex-Prime Minister and members of his team, but he notes that “it did not happen overnight”.
“It takes a long time to develop relationships,” he said. However, he felt that Mr. Trudeau had the desire to nod at the request of the APCP to create a national office of fire administration.
“To say that we had hope at the end of 2024 is probably an understatement. We were extremely optimistic, ”summarizes the president of the APCP.
However, the resignation of Mr. Trudeau, his extension of the Parliament, the holding of elections, then the formation of a new government put the project on the ice, he said.
Mr. McMullen hopes that the file will advance this fall, with the resumption of parliamentary work.
