MANITOULIN—A local fire department chief agrees with Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing MP Carol Hughes in petitioning for an increase to the volunteer firefighter tax credit.
“Right now, the tax credit is $3,000 and it would definitely help if it was increased,” said Martin Connell, fire chief for the Billings Township volunteer fire department. Increasing the tax credit to $10,000 would be a huge incentive for new and additional people to sign up to be a member of the fire department. “I think (MP Hughes) is on the right track. I think if this went through it would encourage more young people to join fire departments.”
MP Hughes stated in a release, “Volunteer firefighters account for 71 percent of Canada’s total firefighting essential first responders, and an additional 8,000 essential search and rescue volunteers who respond to thousands of incidents each year.”
Ms. Hughes stood in the House of Commons February 5 to table a petition demanding an increase to the volunteer firefighter tax credit from $3,000 a year to $10,000 per year for those committing to 200 hours of service.
“That comes out to only about $450 per year, or $2.25 an hour,” said MP Hughes. “But if volunteers work more than 200 hours, the tax credit becomes even less. These essential volunteers not only put their lives on the line, but also play an important role in keeping property taxes low.”
“Way back when we got the credit in place for firefighters of $3,000 in the provincial budget,” MP Hughes told The Expositor. “As we saw last year, we are looking at longer and more difficult fire seasons with weather conditions the way they are, and it could mean more fires. We need to support volunteer firefighters even more, especially when they are going through more training, being on the scene of an increasing number of fires and, for example, search and rescue personnel being called on more to help handle fires. It just makes sense to increase the tax credit to $10,000,” she said, noting her colleague Gord Johns has a petition out that is calling for this increase. “We are putting a push for this increase now and hopefully the government will consider this increase when they table the federal budget.”
“These volunteer firefighters are putting their lives on the line to fight fires,” said MP Hughes. “And they have to undergo a lot of training to be prepared, which is not taken into account. The key is for all these firefighting personnel to get home safely at the end of the day.”
MP Hughes reiterated calls from the petitioners for the government to support Bill C-310 and increase the firefighter and search and rescue volunteer tax credit ahead of the 2024 fire season, particularly after last year’s record-breaking fire season.
