Nanaimo-North Cowichan MLA Doug Routley is welcoming $189,780 to assist with wildfire education, planning and cross-training for the Municipality of North Cowichan, the Stz’unimus First Nation and the Cowichan Tribes.
“This funding will help inform people about the threat of wildfires, and how they can be prevented,” said Routley. “People can now take a pro-active approach to wildfire risk reduction through education and planning.”
The specific breakdown of funding is as follows: $15,100 to the Municipality of North Cowichan to assist with education and FireSmart activities for private land; $25,000 to the Stz’uminus First Nation to assist with planning and cross-training; and $149,680 to Cowichan Tribes to assist with education, planning, development, inter-agency cooperation, emergency planning, cross-training and FireSmart demonstration.
North Cowichan, the Stz’unimus First Nation and the Cowichan Tribes are among almost 90 local governments and First Nations throughout B.C. benefiting from nearly $9 million in new provincial government grants to support wildfire risk reduction projects through the Community Resiliency Investment program.
The CRI program helps reduce wildfire risks and impacts in B.C. communities by providing funding and support to complete FireSmart initiatives and fuel management activities. The program is administered by the Union of BC Municipalities.
Since the launch of the CRI program in September of 2018, the New Democratic Party government has invested more than $18.6 million to support 209 projects helping local governments and First Nations mitigate wildfire threats around their communities.