Canada must reduce its reliance on the Armed Forces to fight wildfires, Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski said on Monday. She confirmed cabinet is again weighing plans to create a national emergency agency modeled after the US Federal Emergency Management Agency.“We’re working right now on a plan to better support provinces and territories in responding to immediate threats, and that really means looking at how we can strengthen coordination,” Olszewski told reporters. “This is not the Armed Forces’ primary duty and we’ve been incredibly lucky to have their help this season.”Olszewski said resilience, equipment upgrades and new evacuation strategies were needed to ease the burden on soldiers. Yesterday’s official estimate counted 707 active wildfires across the country. Firefighters and equipment were already deployed in every province and territory, with 563 personnel from the United States, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica and Chile also assisting.The Armed Forces were mainly used to evacuate remote communities, Olszewski said, but more effort should be spent on preparing those communities in advance. No audit has disclosed the cost of assigning soldiers and air crews to firefighting duties.Cabinet first proposed federalizing forest firefighting a year ago. Then-emergency preparedness minister Harjit Sajjan said Ottawa was studying American, Australian, German and French systems.Provinces and territories currently coordinate fire crews through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, created in 1982. But witnesses at 2023 Commons defence committee hearings warned the system was inadequate.“As much as we love our armed forces they have very basic training when it comes to firefighting and certainly by no means at the same level as a structural firefighter,” Alberta Deputy Premier Mike Ellis testified. About 650 troops were deployed in his province last year.“We called in the military as a last resort,” said Ellis. “They did what they needed to do, but all communities need to be prepared with emergency management.”
