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SARM wants firefighters compensated properly while battling wildfires

Firefighters battle a wildfire near Fort McMurray. Credit, Premier Rachel Notley's Twitter account

REGINA – With wildfires burning in Northern Alberta and fires in Saskatchewan expected to be a major problem again this summer, the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) is putting forward a proposal to ensure fire departments are properly compensated for battling wildfires.

SARM put forward the proposal to the Federal and Provincial governments for an emergency response fund.

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As fire departments face rising costs, the goal of the fund is to provide them with the confidence they will be fairly compensated for their services and not have to worry about enforcing fire service agreements or spend their time fundraising

Also SARM believes that more need to be done in the way of mutual aid agreements between municipalities and First Nations, making sure that emergency service is delivered in a timely manner to neighbouring RMs and First Nations around the province.

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“We’re hopeful that future meetings with the Federal and Provincial Governments will allow us to discuss our proposals in further detail. It is also worth noting that the Minister of Public Safety, The Honourable Ralph Goodale, is from Saskatchewan and is located in Regina which certainly helps us out,” said President Orb.

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