The federal government will provide nearly $1 million to a Prince Albert Development Corporation Management Company project to support the training of 20 youth in wildfire prevention.
The funding is part of a $16.3 million, three-year investment from the federal government.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in a press release the funding will start in 2024–25 and support 25 projects through the Government of Canada’s Fighting and Managing Wildfires in a Changing Climate Program (FMWCC) – Training Fund.
“Today’s announcement is part of our commitment to work collaboratively to reduce the impacts of wildfires,” Wilkinson said in the press release. “We are providing fast-flowing funding to support organizations, community leaders and local governments and agencies to prepare for, prevent, mitigate and manage wildfires.”
Through this investment, Wilkinson said more than 2,800 youth and community members in remote, rural and Indigenous communities across Canada will receive wildland firefighting training to enhance community capacity for responding to and managing wildfires. He said the investment will also help address employment barriers by equipping people with the necessary skills, and opportunities to pursue employment in wildland firefighting.
From the Training Fund, $946,330 has been allocated to Prince Albert Development Corporation Management Co. Ltd.’s project in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, to support the training of 20 youth in wildfire prevention and mitigation by providing opportunities for skills development and job coaching in the wildland fire industry.
In the press release, the federal government said the project will “aim to address the need identified in communities to improve local and regional capacity in northern fire-prone regions.”
Also, $329,109 is allocated to the Keewaytinook Okimakanak’s project in Thunder Bay, Ont. to support the training of 25 youth in wildfire prevention and mitigation, while $499,330 is set aside for the Metis Settlements General Council’s project in Edmonton to support the training of 320 participants in wildland firefighting, wildfire resiliency and reconciliation.
Also, $1,579,655 is for the Whitefeather Community Resource Management Authority’s project in Pikangikum, Ont. to support the training of 144 community members in Type II Wildland Firefighter Training.
Finally, $1,999,999 is allocated to the Independent First Nations Alliance’s (IFNA) project in Sioux Lookout, Ont. to support the training of 50 participants while also leveraging partnerships, technology and youth engagement and aiming to address the identified need for additional trained staff and crews in IFNA’s remote communities to increase the capacity to manage wildfires locally.
The FMWCC Training Fund was launched in 2022 to train 1,000 new community-based firefighters, focusing on Indigenous communities, to increase local fire management capacities and capabilities across Canada.
The FMWCC Equipment Fund was also launched in 2022 to support provinces and territories to purchase specialized wildfire firefighting equipment including, but not limited to, personal protective equipment, vehicles, mobile units, hoses, pumps and enhanced communications equipment, many of which were used to combat wildfires last season.
Visit Canada.ca/wildfires for a complete list of links to various federal supports for individuals impacted by wildfires.
