| LEGISLATIVE
ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO
Official
Record of Debate
(Hansard)
FIRE
PROTECTION SERVICES
June
24, 2003
Mr
Ted Arnott (Waterloo-Wellington): My question is for
the Minister of Public Safety and Security. The fire
departments in Waterloo-Wellington provide essential
emergency services. Most of them are in small communities,
ably served by volunteers, and they continue to deserve
the full support of this Legislature.
I've
been contacted by fire departments in my riding in the
townships of Wellesley and Wilmot that are aware of
the 2003 provincial budget funding commitment for municipal
fire services in small and rural communities. Will the
minister please inform the House what is happening with
this funding commitment and what kinds of fire service
needs and projects will be eligible for funding under
this new initiative?
Hon
Robert W. Runciman (Minister of Public Safety and Security):
I thank the honourable member for the question and for
his dedication to the volunteer firefighters of this
province. Our government recognizes, supports and values
the hard work of Ontario firefighters. This is why the
government has promised the allocation of $40 million
to assist small town and rural fire services to purchase
the new and updated firefighting equipment they need.
At the present time, the Ontario fire marshal's office
is working with other ministry staff, including the
Ministry of Finance, to develop funding criteria and
administrative processes, and we hope to bring these
forward within the next two to three months.
Mr
Arnott: I want to thank the minister for that answer,
and I appreciate the work he has done to recognize the
importance of fire departments in small communities
by helping to make them a priority in this past year's
provincial budget. The minister has received a request
from Mayor Doug Bergman of Wellesley township that outlines
some of the equipment his fire department needs; this
includes a new pumper truck and upgrades to rescue vans.
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO
He
has also received a letter from Chief John Ritz of the
township of Wilmot, asking how his township can improve
their services through this initiative. I want to support
them and the other fire departments in my riding in
every way that I can. Ontario's firefighters risk their
lives every day to keep the communities of Ontario safe.
Can the minister tell this House what the government
is doing to ensure that their efforts are not in vain
and what initiatives the government is undertaking to
assist local and rural fire services such as those that
exist in my riding?
Hon
Mr Runciman: I'd like to say that the government has
demonstrated its commitment to the fire safety community
in Ontario. It was this government that introduced the
Fire Protection and Prevention Act in 1997, the first
updating of that act in 50 years. We pledged $3 million
in funding in support of the enhancement of the Ontario
Fire College and the creation of an emergency management
centre of excellence. In addition to this, we've announced
$2.5 million in annual funding for generic and specialized
fire training. Now we're working toward fulfilling our
promise of $40 million in additional funding. The government
remains committed to ensuring that all emergency services
in the province have the tools and resources they need
to respond to and manage emergencies. Our actions are
an indicator of this commitment.
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