Whereas the Province of BC continues to face devastating wildfire events year after year and the risk of these events continues to climb, while the Province spends hundreds of millions of dollars on wildfire suppression, yet the amount dedicated to local governments for wildfire prevention via the Community Resilience Investment Grant is exponentially smaller; And whereas In April 2024, the Premiers Expert Task Force on Emergencies called the FireSmart program a success story but recommended building capacity to expedite wildfire risk reduction projects and streamline administrative requirements, and providing more year-over-year certainty for communities applying for FireSmart funding; And whereas while improvements are being made, portions of the existing grant process is onerous and resource intensive, and does not allow for long-term planning: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM work with the Province of British Columbia to dedicate additional grant funds to wildfire prevention and further ease and simplify the program, fully changing the process from a competition-based application process to an allocation-based formula for a term of at least five years to reduce red tape, and allow for future planning and more effective prevention-based response; And be it further resolved that UBCM work with the Province of British Columbia to reduce the grant approval timelines to less than 30 days.
Ministry of Forests Ministry of Forests recognizes the shared responsibility for wildfire mitigation between the Province and local governments. The Ministry works with UBCM and the First Nations Emergency Services Society, as program partners, to continuously review the Community Resiliency Investment program and identify improvements to the program based on feedback from communities. These recommendations will be considered by the program partners. The Ministry continues to bring together partners as part of a whole-of-society approach. In 2025, government expanded BC Timber Sales mandate to bring additional expertise and capacity to support wildfire risk reduction around communities, and initiated Forest Landscape Planning processes in additional areas of the Province, including the Okanagan, which will address wildfire mitigation objectives. The Ministry also continues to expand partnerships through the BC FireSmart program, including Local FireSmart Collaboratives.