A firefighter directs water on a grass fire burning on an acreage behind a residential property in Kamloops, B.C., Monday, June 5, 2023. New Democrats are calling on the federal government to increase the tax credit for volunteer firefighters as they combat wildfires raging across the country. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
OTTAWA – New Democrats are calling on the federal government to increase the tax credit for volunteer firefighters as they combat wildfires raging across the country.
MP Gord Johns held a news conference on Parliament Hill today alongside a board member from the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs to call for an increase to the volunteer firefighter and search and rescue tax credit from $3,000 to $10,000.
Johns introduced a bill in the House of Commons late last year to make the change.
Volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers are currently eligible for the tax credit if they have completed 200 hours of service.
The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs says volunteers made up 70 per cent of firefighters in the country last year.
But the number of volunteers has been decreasing in recent years, adding to the personnel shortage facing firefighting services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2023.
