Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Harjit Sajjan, Canada’s Minister of Emergency Preparedness, visited theCainsville fire station to speak about the 2024 federal budget’s increased tax credit for volunteer firefighters on Wednesday, May 8, 2024.
During the visit, Lisa Herbert, a firefighter for the County of Brant, as well as other volunteer firefighters, gave Freeland and Sajjan a personal tour of the station including its bunker room, training props, fire training tower and an Onondaga pumper truck.
Following the walk through, the two took to the podium to extend their gratitude for all the hard work, dedication and personal sacrifices made by volunteer firefighters across Canada.
“I’m just truly inspired by the courage and commitment that our firefighters have to our communities, and we will no doubt rely on your expertise moving into the future. …Every year, thousands of Canadian volunteers bravely step up and help their communities during times of emergencies,” said Minister Sajjan. “They sacrifice their time and their personal safety to keep their neighbourhoods safe; whether they’re responding to wildfires in British Columbia or flooding in Nova Scotia, volunteers go above and beyond to help with firefighting and also with search and rescue. … There exists no braver person than the one who’s willing to sacrifice their own life to help another and all Canadians owe our community volunteers a tremendous amount of gratitude.”
Freeland said that with Canada having faced its worst wildfire season on record in 2023, it was important that the federal government be able to help support the many volunteer firefighters across the country.
“As climate change increases the number and severity of natural disasters like wildfires, our government is taking action to ensure firefighters and first responders across our great country have the support they need to help keep us all safe. That’s why we’re supporting Canada’s courageous first responders by doubling the volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers tax credit from $3,000 to $6,000,” she said. “This means volunteer firefighters will receive up to an additional $450 back on their taxes and I hope, that little bit of money back will help. But what I want to say above all, to the incredible volunteer firefighters who are with us today and to people like them who are serving across our country, this is also about recognizing your service. It’s also about all of Canada saying to you, ‘you are amazing, thank you very, very much.”
She then announced that the federal government will also be providing $800,000 in funding to partner with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) in order to help provide specialized training for modern wildfire scenarios.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
