Yukon First Nations Wildfire founder visited Ottawa on Oct. 23 to advocate for Indigenous crews in Canada\u2019s wildfire response system<\/p>\n
Chad Thomas, founder of Yukon First Nations Wildfire, met with federal leaders in Ottawa on Oct. 22 to call for national recognition of Indigenous wildfire crews and long-term funding to match the scale of Canadian wildfires.<\/p>\n
He joined a delegation of wildfire survivors and emergency responders pressing for federal action on equipment, resources, mental health supports and Indigenous-led emergency management. The visit followed what organizers described as Canada\u2019s second-worst wildfire season on record.<\/p>\n
Thomas said Ottawa must remove barriers that prevent Indigenous crews from receiving national certification. Under current rules, only provinces and territories can certify wildfire personnel, a restriction that sidelines First Nations trainers and limits deployment.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, the only people that hold on to that national certification are the provinces and territories themselves and they don\u2019t allow First Nation contractors to certify people to this high level,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n
Beat the Heat, a Yukon First Nations Wildfire program created by Thomas, is not federally endorsed despite its rigorous training standards. He said the program is on par with the territorial one, but its graduates aren\u2019t eligible for national deployment.<\/p>\n
A four-part strategy was proposed to improve Indigenous emergency management, youth recruitment, standardized training, proper equipment and field experience. Without all four, Thomas said certification and retention will continue to suffer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t allow them to get out on the incidences and get experience to build that final piece for them to be certified, then that\u2019s a big issue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Retention is already a concern, according to Thomas. Many young firefighters leave First Nations crews to join provincial agencies offering better training and advancement, despite wanting to serve their own communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe invest so much in recruiting and training but without experience opportunities, they can\u2019t progress. We need to let them grow while staying with their own organizations,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n
First Nations crews are often classified as contractors rather than first responders, a distinction that limits access to advanced training and excludes them from inter-agency coordination through the Canadian Inter-agency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), which oversees inter-provincial deployments.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re not really contract crews, they\u2019re First Nation first responders,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s something that\u2019s always bothered me quite a bit and it\u2019s something I\u2019ve been advocating for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
While provinces pay to participate in CIFFC, First Nations governments are excluded, despite managing their own wildfire crews and territories. Thomas said federal officials were receptive to his message, though surprised by the extent of the gaps.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the information that they get fed is from provinces and territories,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Foreign fire crews from Australia, South Africa, the United States and Mexico have previously deployed under mutual aid agreements. Thomas said Canada should prioritize Indigenous crews who are trained, locally based and deeply familiar with the land.<\/p>\n
Mental health support was also highlighted as a critical gap. Thomas said First Nations wildfire crews often go without adequate resources despite working under the same front-line conditions as territorial teams.<\/p>\n
National coordination could help address these issues. Thomas is calling for consistent funding, regional emergency management positions and a seat at the table for Indigenous crews managing wildfire risk in their own traditional territories.<\/p>\n
The Wildfire Awareness Society recently graded Whitehorse\u2019s wildfire preparedness. Forest fuel management earned an A-, but city-level FireSmart efforts and evacuation planning received C and D grades, citing limited resources and public awareness.<\/p>\n
Thomas said those findings reflect broader systemic gaps that national coordination could help close, if Indigenous crews are empowered to lead.<\/p>\n