Making Vancouver Island Resilient
Since 2015, Gord has supported first responders and called for improvements to emergency preparedness. As wildfires get worse and BC is faced with a changing climate, Gord is ensuring that Courtenay-Alberni communities are resilient and prepared:
Supporting first responders. Gord knows the tireless work carried out by volunteer first responders across Canada, and their essential role in protecting communities from disaster:
- In 2021, Gord introduced private members bill C-264 that would become C-310 and go on to be passed in December of 2022. Bill C-310 doubled volunteer firefighter tax credits from $3,000 a year to $6,000.
- Gord also seconded C-224, the National Framework on Cancers Linked to Firefighting Act
- In 2023, Gord argued against the outsourcing of Veterans Affairs' mental health rehabilitation services to a company owned by Loblaw’s
Ready for the next crisis. Gord recognizes that climate change is causing extreme weather events and that the world is becoming more unpredictable. Now more than ever, we need to be prepared for future that we can't predict.
- In 2021, Gord introduced private members bill C-264 that would become C-310 and go on to be passed in December of 2022. Bill C-310 doubled volunteer firefighter tax credits from $3,000 a year to $6,000.
- Gord successfully pressured the government to include funding for a national aerial wildfire fleet in the 2025 budget, providing emergency support to provinces facing a surge of wildfires.
- Gord is calling on the government to establish a National Fire Administration, responsible for coordinating with provincial and local agencies on fire response.
- Gord introduced Motion M-20, calling on the federal government to create a national strategy with the provinces for mental health response following emergencies, in order to address the growing rates of trauma and mental harm from evacuations, shootings, and mass-casualty events.
Gord’s job is not done. He continues to advocate for further increases to the volunteer first responder tax credit and an expansion in federal supports for wildfire fighting in BC and across Canada.
For more information on Gord’s record, visit openparliament.ca, an independent website that helps you “Keep tabs on Parliament”.