Volunteer firefighters and search and rescue crews are seeing their tax credit double in 2024.
This was announced by the federal government on Wednesday.
Firefighters with 200 or more volunteer hours would qualify for a $3,000 credit, after the increase that is now $6,000.
Smithers Fire Chief Derek Dickson said the change “recognizes the volume of work and the efforts that the volunteer firefighters are making. The bulk of firefighters across Canada are volunteers.”
While good news for those who are in the force, he doesn’t feel this will lead to an increased uptake in volunteers.
“We’re having some significant challenges in the fire service with volunteers as we are across many groups in all communities, so I don’t think we’ll see a direct correlation between this increase and an increase in volunteers,” said Dickson.
This morning (Friday), crews were on scene at the homeless encampment responding to a tent fire.