After report on 2023 wildfires, calls for N.W.T. gov't to invest more in firefighters

Northwest Territories MLAs — and a wildfire expert — say the Northwest Territories Government needs to follow the recommendations of a recent review of the 2023 wildfire season and increase investment in training and support for N.W.T. firefighters.

The 212-page report, tabled Wednesday, is based on a third-party review of the N.W.T. Department of Environment and Climate Change (ECC) response to 2023's unprecedented wildfire season. The review was commissioned by the N.W.T. government and completed by Calgary-based consulting firm MNP.

Recommendations in the report include improving firefighter training, using better fire modelling software, and better supporting firefighter mental health.

"The minister is still saying we need to find the money," said Range Lake MLA Keiron Testart. "When it comes to people and communities' safety, that should pay for itself. This needs to be a priority."

Testart said he wants to see the territorial government implement all of the recommendations in the report, starting with increasing staffing on fire crews to reduce burnout, and investing in more advanced software to model fire behaviour. 

He also called on other regular MLAs to pressure the territorial government put money behind these recommendations during budget time next year. He said it's a necessary step to ensuring the report doesn't just sit on a shelf.

"We've seen this in the past … the GNWT will come forward and say 'I know the report looks bad, but we've done most of the things, don't worry about it' — and two or four years later another report is issued and the situation is worse." 

Continued calls for a public inquiry

Testart said that although he thinks there are many good recommendations in the report, he still believes a public inquiry into the 2023 wildfire season is needed. 

"These are operational reviews … and they're on the department's terms," he said. "We wanted completely unimpeachable, unbiased perspective on the issues."

He also said that a public inquiry would provide a more holistic picture of what went wrong, rather than two separate reviews for Municipal and Community Affairs and Environment and Climate Change.

"Until we get the full picture, we can't actually move forward."

Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakelaya, who first brought forward the motion calling for a public inquiry into the 2023 wildfire season, also told CBC she believes a full inquiry is still needed.

She said she believes it would be a better tool for ensuring the N.W.T. Government is truly accountable to residents who were impacted by last year's wildfires, like those in Enterprise who lost their homes.

"We need to talk to the people that were really affected," she said.

She would also like to see the territorial government work to improve training and mentorship opportunities for young firefighters, another recommendation of the report.

"They had young inexperienced firefighters that came on last year. I heard from one of them that it was scary," Yakelaya said.

"She said 'I didn't know that if you heard a crack behind you you've gotta get out of the way because a tree can come down on you."

Yakelaya said she believes older, experienced firefighters should be involved in giving some of that training.

More year-round firefighters

Justin Perry is an instructor in wildfire management at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

"Number one thing that pops out is lack of support for staff," he said of Wednesday's report.

Perry said problems with firefighter retention are common across North America, not just in Northwest Territories. But there are things he believes the territorial government could be doing to improve staff retention.

"The way that we can fix this issue [is] to look at long-term career opportunities and career paths," Perry said. 

"Is there ways we can create these opportunities for firefighters to work year-round instead of just having them put on seasonally and exposed to these very difficult working conditions?"

He said work for firefighters during the off-season could include important preventative measures like creating fuel breaks or doing controlled burns. 

It would also be a good time to train more firefighters on fire modelling software, which is another recommendation in the report which he believes needs to be implemented. The software uses information on factors like weather and wind to predict fire movement.

"That's a very important thing when, like last year, there weren't enough resources [and] you have to triage."

N.W.T. wildfire prevention manager Mike Westwick told CBC the Department of Environment and Climate Change is already working to implement the recommendations.

A "big focus," he said, has been increasing staffing and improving firefighter retention. That includes working to develop more training opportunities for firefighters during the off-season. Some of this work, he said, has already begun. The department is working to train more firefighters on how to use fire modelling software, for example.

"All I can really do at this moment is reiterate our commitment to continuous improvement. It's what we do in the fire service. It's what we need to do every step of the way," Westwick said.