First Nations short-changed with firefighting cash: MP – The Chronicle Journal
May 9, 2015
The amount of money the federal government sets aside each year for First Nation firefighting equipment and prevention programs is spread way too thin, says NDP MP Carol Hughes.
“It’s a drop in the bucket when one considers how far $26.3 million goes once it is divided by more than 600 (First Nation) communities,” Hughes (Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing) said Thursday in a news release.
Hughes said fatal fires are 10 times more likely to happen in aboriginal communities compared to the rest of the country, usually due to substandard housing and faulty wood stoves.
“Often the lives lost are young people who have been sacrificed due to the absence of a regulatory regime for fire services and inspections,” Hughes said.
