Carleton Place Fire Department says increased Volunteer Firefighter Tax Credit ‘helps with retention and recruitment’

There are three types of fire departments in the country: full-time, volunteer and composite. Composite departments encompass both full-time and volunteer personnel.

According to the 2023 Great Canadian Fire Census, volunteer and composite departments make up most of Canada’s brigades. Additionally, the country has nearly 126,000 firefighters, with an estimated 90,000 or 70 per cent of them volunteers.

For 2024 and ensuing tax years, the Volunteer Firefighter Tax Credit and the Search and Rescue Volunteer Tax Credit are doubling — from $3,000 to $6,000. Thus, those who performed at least 200 hours of combined volunteer service during the year as a volunteer firefighter or a search and rescue volunteer will save up to $900 per year.

In an April 10 Department of Finance media release, the government indicated the move targets rural communities, where firefighters are for the most part volunteers, and they are confronting increasingly more frequent wildfires due to climate change.

“Volunteer firefighters keep Canadians safe, while putting their own lives at risk,” Freeland stated. “As wildfires and natural disasters grow more severe, these volunteers remain some of the only first responders in their community.”

“The Volunteer Firefighter Tax Credit and the Search and Rescue Volunteer Tax Credit are there to support the service of remarkable Canadians and encourage more people to do this critical, lifesaving work,” she added.

The Carleton Place Fire Department is a composite brigade, with five full-time staff members and 21 volunteer (paid-on-call) firefighters.

“We knew it was coming,” Assistant Fire Chief Matt Anderson told Inside Ottawa Valley. “I know they were lobbying for $10,000, but they got $6,000.”

“It was doubled, which is certainly a step in the right direction,” he continued. “For us, it certainly helps with retention and recruitment.”

Typically, the fire department’s calls include fires, medical emergencies, motor vehicle collisions, water and ice rescues and hazardous material incidents. Fire protection services are also afforded to neighbouring municipalities by way of automatic and mutual aid agreements.

Therefore, a full roster and available resources that can answer a call at any time of the day is a priority.

Most volunteer firefighters have full-time jobs in other fields but can respond to emergency calls.

“They are not doing it for the money but more for the heart,” Anderson expressed. “So, saving upwards of $900 a year can make a difference — especially with things getting busier.”

“Take a look at the gas pumps,” he noted. “You have guys and girls getting in their vehicle at 2 or 3 a.m. to attend fire calls … it can save us a bit of money for sure.”

In Carleton Place, full-time staff, except for the managers, default to volunteers when they are off shift.

The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs  applauds the tax credit increase, with president and Red Deer Fire Department Chief Ken McMullen calling it “a strong and meaningful recognition of the essential firefighting and search and rescue personnel that volunteer in our communities every day and particularly during a gruelling wildfire season.”

“We cannot do enough for these individuals, but this is a great start,” he said. “This type of volunteerism is potentially dangerous and disruptive, so we could not have been more appreciative of the message this sends to one of our most precious resources.”

The association is hopeful the federal government will continue to increase the tax credit over time to the $10,000, which was proposed in Bill C-310 by Gord Johns, NDP MP for Courtenay—Alberni (British Columbia).