The province is kicking in an extra $10 million to aid B.C.’s 80 volunteer search and rescue teams.
North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Naomi Yamamoto, also minister of state for emergency preparedness and an avid trail runner, made the announcement from the North Shore Rescue’s Tim Jones Rescue Centre on Wednesday afternoon while flanked by members of almost a dozen search and rescue teams.
“Today, it’s time to give them just a little bit more support,” she said, committing the one-time $10-million grant. “They comb the province’s backcountry, they rappel into steep ravines. They weather the worst of the elements all while leaving the comforts of home to find those who are lost and injured. They are the epitome of volunteerism and service. It’s safe to say you are the heroes of so many people in British Columbia.”
B.C. Search and Rescue Association president Chris Kelly said he’d only just learned of the funding injection and hadn’t yet determined how the 80-member teams will divvy up the $10 million.
Yamamoto said there will be a process based on criteria made in concert with Emergency Management B.C.
North Shore Rescue team leader Mike Danks welcomed the news and said his top priority for any of the funds coming in will be backcountry safety education.
“Currently, we’re getting so many requests, it’s really tough for us to keep up with those, so anything that helps with the prevention side would be a huge thing,” he said.
North Shore Rescue is coming off the busiest year in its history with more than 130 rescue missions. The team has been lobbying the province for a new funding model so its burnt-out members won’t have to include fundraising in their volunteer time.
The province is expected to respond to a proposed new funding model from the association later in the spring, something Danks and his teammates will be keeping a close eye on.
“It really comes down to how it’s going to fit for each team because each team is very unique in their call volume and their membership and facilities and infrastructure. We just want to make sure that it’s not a one-size-fits-all,” he said.
“I know we have a long way to go but I think this current allotment of funding for search and rescue in B.C. is a leap forward and there’s been a lot of work that’s gone on in the background to make that happens and we’re very appreciative of the support that we get locally not only from the MLAs but from the community.”
