Emergency Preparation and Response main focus for North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice's Budget Boasts

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice outlined the positives she
sees from the 2022 Provincial Budget, speaking on Thursday
to the topic in the BC Legislature

Over the last two weeks, the MLA's of the BC Legislature have been sharing their observations of the recently delivered British Columbia budget, the government side of the housing quite enthusiastic about Finance Minister Selina Robinsons financial blue print, the Opposition somewhat less inclined to proclaim it as a flawless document that covers all the province's needs.

On Thursday morning it was the turn for North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice to speak to the topic and she followed the lead of her fellow New Democrats in praise of the budget planning.

Her presentation to the Legislature began with a short passage of note for the home constituents of the North Coast, with a short observation on rural connectivity and health care.

"Within my riding, within North Coast, particularly around increased funding to support rural connectivity, which is critical to having the members of North Coast contribute and participate in the 21st century. 

We'll also have seen some positive decisions made around improving health services, addressing the rural recruitment and retention issues and  you know making spaces available for training new nurses, LPNs and nurse practitioners."

From there, Ms. Rice who is the Parliamentary Secretary for Emergency Preparedness, put the majority of her focus on some of the announcements from the budget of two weeks ago that will be towards better preparation and response for emergencies.

"As we know, climate change is increasing the frequency, intensity and duration of disasters. The events we experienced this past year from a heat dome and wildfires to flooding and mudslides have highlighted the need to support communities with disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation. 

Budget 2022 includes $2.1 billion to support the recovery of communities as we build back better from recent disasters and to strengthen our defences to make sure people and communities across B.C. are protected from future disasters. 

To do this, $1.5 billion in new funding will be invested over the next three years to support the province's ongoing response and recovery efforts, including rebuilding more resilient infrastructure. 

This includes contingencies over the next three years to support those people, businesses and communities that have been impacted due to recent disasters. Budget 2022 invests $110 million over three years for the community emergency preparedness fund, which is administered by the Union of B.C. Municipalities, or UBCM. 

This is a historic investment into this fund that will support local governments and First Nations with their community-led disaster risk-reduction initiatives: things such as evacuation route planning, structural flood mitigation, volunteer fire department equipment and training, Indigenous cultural safety training, flood risk assessments, and emergency operation centre training and supports. 

Through emergency management B.C., we've made investments to expand our public alerting system and emergency surge capacity to support people when it matters most. We are strengthening our ability to protect public safety and transforming emergency management B.C., adding more staff to improve capacity to support communities, with a strong focus on the prevention, preparedness, response and recovery for wildfires, floods and all other hazards."

Ms. Rice also called attention to the level of funding for First Nations communities and local governments in British Columbia towards Emergency preparation.

As well, with the memories of recent fire seasons still a vivid image, the Parliamentary Secretary for Emergency Preparedness outlined the new measures that the Horgan government has introduced towards fighting future incidents.

"In regards to the B.C. Wildfire Service in Budget 2022, we have allocated $194 million to the B.C. Wildfire Service — an increase of $58 million over last year, and over three times as much as the 2018 firefighting allocation. 

We're moving the B.C. Wildfire Service to a year-round workforce, so these professionals can support British Columbians in their wildfire preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery. 

This model will also allow the B.C. Wildfire Service to flexibly support its partners in response to other emergencies, such as flooding and landslides. Investment in a year-round model will mean more training and staff development, with a focus on continuous service improvement. The B.C. Wildfire Service is committed to educating individuals and communities about wildfire risk and the actions they can take to protect themselves. 

An additional $98 million over the fiscal plan will fund wildfire prevention work and maintain crucial forest service roads used to respond to forest fires. 

Wildfire risk reduction is a shared responsibility.  Budget 2022 includes $90 million in 2021 and 2022 to help more communities participate in programs like FireSmart. FireSmart provides homeowners and communities with information and tools to take direct action and protect their homes, their neighbourhoods and their communities from the impact of wildfire."

The North Coast MLA'a commentary also outlined how Local Government's can become involved in Emergency preparation, as well as to highlight the resources provided to the Rivers Forecast Centre towards preparation and mitigation on flood risk in the province.

The full transcript for her Budget Response can be reviewed through the Legislature Archive starting at the 11:05 mark of the morning session. Her five minute address to the Chamber is also available for viewing from the Legislature Video stream starting at the same time.

More notes on the work of the North Coast MLA can be explored through our archive page.