Treating forest firefighters the same as regular firefighters – Dan in Ottawa

Every year in British Columbia, forest firefighters undertake difficult, dangerous and exhausting tasks in demanding conditions.

Last year was particularly tragic, six forest firefighters lost their lives in the line of duty. These facts are well known, especially to those who live in or near interface areas where the risk of forest fires is widely recognized.

It is not known that, despite the demanding working environment, forest firefighters are not currently included in the list of public safety professions within the meaning of income tax regulations.

What does it mean? Those listed in “public safety occupations” can retire early at age 50 and contribute 2.33% annually to their pension. Currently, forest firefighters are classified as forestry and forestry workers. For these workers, the minimum retirement age is set at 55 and the maximum pension accrual rate is 2% per annum.

Currently, firefighters working in local and regional locations, airports, and industrial and ship environments are included in the list of “priority occupations” as defined by the Government of Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC). However, forest firefighters were not included.

As the official opposition, we believe it’s time to change this. It is our common sense to amend the NOC list to include “forest firefighter” in the definition of “firefighter”. This change would allow forest firefighters to access retirement benefits that other firefighters receive in recognized public safety professions.

In the Okanagan, Similkameen and Nicola Valleys, we are extremely fortunate to have many dedicated and experienced forest firefighters. Each year they work tirelessly to protect homes, other structures, animals and, most importantly, life across the province.

In my opinion, this is a modest but important change that highlights the importance of the work of our forest firefighters. This issue transcends partisan concerns, which is why I am pleased to report that the Liberal Government has announced its intention to adopt our proposal.

However, as of this writing, it has not been implemented for this year’s wildfire season, which would allow forest firefighters to start saving for retirement like other firefighters.

My question this week:

Do you agree that this conservative proposal should be implemented immediately? Why or why not?

I can be reached at: (email protected) or call toll-free 1-800-665-8711.

Dan Albas is the Conservative Member of Parliament for the Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola riding.

This article was written by or on behalf of an external columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.