More than $40M in funding announced to help N.B. better prepare for threat of wildfires

The New Brunswick and federal governments are spending $40 million on equipment to fight wildfires.

More than $40 million is being spent over the next several years to help New Brunswick prepare for the increasing threat of wildfires.

“With the expected impacts of climate change to our province, we must begin to make large investments now in order to be prepared for the future challenges,” said Natural Resources Minister John Herron in a news release Friday.

“By investing, and upgrading equipment and training, as well as participating in the national FireSmart program, we will be better equipped to prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from wildfires, in addition to protecting our homes, communities and our province.”

Of the funding:

- $12.8 million is being provided by the federal government

- $25.6 million is being spent by the provincial government

“The Government of Canada is providing provinces, territories and partners with the support they need to fight wildfires,” said federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.

“Today’s announcement with New Brunswick is part of our commitment to work co-operatively as we prepare to fight worsening wildfires. Through fast-flowing funding for firefighting tools, vehicles and personnel, we are helping communities prepare for future challenges.”

The province is also receiving $7.2 million over four years under the FireSmart Canada program, which will officially launch in New Brunswick this spring. The provincial government says it’s matching that amount, for a total of $14.4 million.

The FireSmart Canada program helps people and communities increase their resilience to wildfires.

Over the last 10 years, the provincial government says it’s spent more than $63 million on fire suppression, with the 2023 fire season costing nearly $9 million alone.

“We have been very fortunate so far here in our province to have been spared some of the catastrophic wildfires that we’ve seen across Canada and around the world,” said Herron.

“But with our changing climate, our risk is increasing and we need to ensure that our firefighters have the best equipment and training, not only to protect our communities, but to protect themselves.”

Herron said the province will be getting the latest technology, including drones, to replace antiquated equipment for a much-needed technology refit.

“All things that are long overdue. Things like 150 new pumps that will replace the ones that are now 40 to 60 years old,” said Herron.

“There are a number of items that this funding enables us to be able to replace. We’ve got technology from our pumping infrastructure that is 40 to 60 years old. This provides us an opportunity to have a modern technology refresh.”

When speaking to reporters after the announcement, Herron spoke about the recent wildfires in California.

“It should provide a heightened awareness amongst governments, firefighting communities, New Brunswickers as well, we all need to be able to do our part to ensure that we adopt responsible practices in our forests,” said Herron.

Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe MP Ginette Petitpas Taylor said the funding is to ensure frontline workers have the tools to do their job.

“We’ve seen many devastating events that have happened across the country, but also internationally, and we have to make sure that our communities, our province is well prepared,” said Petitpas Taylor.

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