Emergency Management

The Office of the Fire Commissioner (OFC) has extended the deadline for designated local government fire inspectors and investigators to meet established training standards to September 30, 2026 (from July 31, 2025), as it continues to develop curricula that meet the established learning objectives. New training programs will be offered in December 2025.

The BC Government has amended the Local Government Act, enabling regional districts to designate fire inspectors and investigators and establish fire inspection and fire investigation services without requiring a service establishing bylaw. These amendments, which came into force on May 29, 2025, are directly related to responsibilities under the Fire Safety Act, which came into effect on August 1, 2024. 

UBCM has sought clarification from the Province on its position regarding the roles and responsibilities of local governments for financial assistance and property buyouts when homes are deemed unsafe due to disaster risk. 

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA), supported by the Province of BC, is seeking local government and First Nations representatives to participate on a one-year technical subcommittee (TSC) that will develop modernized Flood Hazard Area Land Use Management Guidelines for BC. Individuals interested in joining the TSC are asked to contact Jeff Menard, Program Manager, Canadian Standards Association, as soon as possible. 

Local governments are invited to provide input on the development of regulations for local authorities under the Emergency and Disaster Management Act (EDMA) at one of three online engagement sessions this April. These webinars, administered by the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR) and hosted by UBCM, will give local governments an opportunity to review, validate, and add to key issues and questions identified by the Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) on EDMA regulations. 

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has extended the deadline for implementing Next-Generation 9-1-1 (NG911) across Canada, to March 31, 2027.

Following last year’s release of the B.C. Flood Strategy, the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (WLRS) is hosting two unique half-day virtual engagement sessions regarding flood policy guidance. Interested First Nations and local governments are asked to register by 5:00 p.m. on March 17th. 

The Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) on Emergency and Disaster Management Act regulations has concluded its first series of meetings, which focused on some of the primary responsibilities assigned to local governments under the Act. Key themes and issues raised by LGAC members are summarized below. These were also discussed at the EDMA in Action session at the 2024 UBCM Convention.

Applications for the Volunteer and Composite Fire Departments Equipment and Training stream of the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund are being accepted until October 18, 2024. To get an idea of how this fund can impact a local government, we reached out to the Gabriola Island Improvement district, which has received this grant three times.

On August 7th, UBCM shared that the new Fire Safety Act had been brought into force.  The Office of the Fire Commissioner has released a newsletter providing additional information about investigator and inspector training standards as well as a Q&A document to assist in understanding the new Act.