The 2023 wildfire season was B.C.’s most destructive on record. A total of 2217 fires burned almost 25,000 square kilometers of trees, bush and grassland. This made it an extremely dangerous time for our brave firefighters - who our communities relied heavily on to protect the province.

We need to do more to support firefighters- they are putting their lives on the line to protect our communities from devastating fires, but they are doing it for the starting low wage of $26.68/hr. As a result, a lot of firefighters must work unsustainable hours of overtime and sometimes leave to work in the private sector.

There is a massive recruitment and retention crisis among firefighters due to low wages, low pensions and no hazard pay. This means it’s getting harder and harder to train and retain the most skilled firefighters in the province. The people who are protecting our province from fires deserve better!

Firefighters are doing everything they can to protect us and our communities, so we need to show our support for them now. We are calling on the Minister of Forests, Bruce Ralston to support BC’s firefighters.

We need to fix the recruitment and retention crisis now by:

• Overhauling the compensation system so firefighters are paid fair wages.
• Offering workers the same pension as other public safety responders.
• Fixing the chronic delays in payroll.

Join us in calling on the B.C. Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston to protect firefighters and fix the collapsing recruitment and retention crisis.

If you are a firefighter, please click on the "I'm a firefighter with the BCWS (BC Wildfire Service)" button below and make sure to share your offseason contact information.