The Chinook Emergency Response Society (CERS) has expressed concerns about the new Emergency and Disaster Management Act which came into effect on Nov. 8, 2023.

The CERS responds to emergencies and disasters in the Regional District of Bulkley Nechako (RDBN) Electoral Area-E [Francois/Ootsa Lake] and they addressed 27 wildfires in the region last year.

In a Jan. 3 statement, CERS said the legislation will put the community members at risk for protecting property, feeding livestock and fighting fires behind evacuation order lines during last year鈥檚 wildfire season and fears that their volunteers could now be jailed and/or fined.

They said the legislation could strip down local decision-making authority and autonomy from all regional districts of B.C.

The legislation focuses on emergency response in four phases: mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery and acknowledges the relationship between climate change and disasters. Anyone who fails to comply with the legislation will face a maximum fine of $1 million and/or jail time for individuals and businesses during an emergency.

During the wildfire season, RDBN issued Temporary Access Permits for agricultural purposes which allowed residents and business owners to remain within evacuation order areas to feed livestock and protect infrastructure. But under this new legislation, the RDBN and their staff could face fines.

Chief Corrina Leween, Cheslatta Carrier Nation鈥檚 chief appreciates all the hard work CERS has done.

鈥淐heslatta has been working along side them and without their help I think the Southside could have had another catastrophic wild fire seasons. The federal government needs to have a conversation with our community and then decide what鈥檚 best for us,鈥� Leween said.

Sharon Vare, CERS鈥檚 board chair addressed that CERS had worked with local community members since 2018 and had never received government funding. Vare stated the community鈥檚 volunteers have saved millions of dollars in timber resources, structures and firefighting costs.

鈥淭he government needs to work with organized communities, and they need to start now,鈥� Vare said.

Scott Zayac from CERS said, the upcoming wildfire season is four months away and could possibly be an Armageddon if this legislation stands.

Zayac is hoping the government will listen to the feedback from the residents and frontline locals who have lived through these fires.

He said the legislation will never work since it is putting roadblocks and barriers in place that will make it more difficult for people to respond to emergencies.

鈥淭here is nothing to gain by threatening jail time and huge fines. This very government has acknowledged that utilizing local knowledge and expertise is an enormous asset for the BC Wildfire Services (BCWS) and that fighting these huge wildfire events is outside the capacity of the BCWS on their own.鈥�

Communities and BCWS must work together to save properties, communities and public resources, he said.

鈥淚f this legislation stands, these decisions will be much more difficult for these volunteers to make and it puts rural communities in extreme jeopardy. The CERS will continue to operate business as usual coming into the wildfire season, but if community members are forced to leave their homes and businesses are forced to close, then there may not be anyone around to respond to new fire starts 鈥� this is a huge and concern,鈥� Zayac said.

John Rustad, Nechako Lake鈥檚 MLA, believes the legislation is flawed and blamed the NDP government for it.

鈥淚 do not believe they [NDP government] are willing to back down. I am happy to provide whatever support I can to society, but ultimately, we need a change of government to address the legislation.

Rustad said the province got in the way of trained crews staying on to do the mop-up work to make sure hotspots were put out.

鈥淪everal fires came back to life and jumped guards because these hotspots were not addressed. The province should be working to empower groups like this. Give them the authority, support and equipment. Authorize them to take independent initiative and stay in communication with them,鈥� Rustad said.

The CERS urges residents to voice their concerns to local and regional districts, municipalities, band offices, elected officials, and MLAs and email the government at modernizeEM@gov.bc.ca before the deadline of Jan. 31.