Improved Level of Funding for Highway Rescue Services

Whereas British Columbia highways handle large volumes of traffic, with vehicle crashes occurring in all parts of BC in all seasons; And whereas many small community volunteer fire departments and societies provide vital highway rescue services for crashes occurring on Provincial highways; And whereas while some costs are reimbursed to the communities providing this service, costs for the service exceed the reimbursed costs, meaning local taxpayers, most of which reside in small communities, are subsidizing up to 50 for a Provincial highway system service, including a portion of on-call payments for highway rescue responders, training costs, fuel, vehicle provision, maintenance and replacement; And whereas the Province of BC funds 100 of other emergency services attending to vehicle crashes on Provincial Highways including BC Ambulance Service and BC Coroners Service: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Province of BC to seriously commit to the development and implementation of a comprehensive funding model for Highway Rescue Services such that small community taxpayers are not subsidizing a provincial service.