Alberta volunteer firefighter Alison Archambault calls it her 鈥渟oul work.鈥�

But that doesn鈥檛 mean some more help at tax time wouldn鈥檛 be welcome too.

A tax credit for volunteer firefighters currently stands at $3,000, but Archambault, a volunteer in Redwood Meadows outside Calgary, said 鈥渁ny increase is appreciated鈥� to help with costs such as vehicle maintenance.

鈥淰olunteer fire departments in general are having recruitment challenges and retention challenges and (an) increase in the tax writeoff is just another tool to make being a volunteer firefighter more attractive and staying a volunteer firefighter more attractive,鈥� said Archambault, whose regular job is in public relations.

Others agree, and a push is underway to raise the tax credit after Canada鈥檚 worst wildfire season on record.

B.C. member of Parliament Gord Johns has been working with the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs to try to boost the credit for volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers to $10,000.

A petition to the House of Commons got more than 16,000 signatures in support of the increase, and Johns鈥� bill to make the change passed its first reading in the house this month.

Johns said emergency services volunteers deserve a break from inflation and rising living costs.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e taking on more paid work to keep up with rising costs and they just can鈥檛 keep volunteering at this scale,鈥� he said.

鈥淲e rely on them. They save taxpayers money. Retaining volunteer firefighters is a huge challenge with the increase in inflation and there鈥檚 been a huge decrease in the number of volunteer firefighters in the country.鈥�

He said there are 20 volunteer fire departments and search and rescue teams in his own riding of Courtenay-Alberni on Vancouver Island, and raising the tax credit would be 鈥渓ow-hanging fruit鈥� at little cost to public coffers.

鈥淚t鈥檚 certainly going to let them know that Canadians actually care and value them and that they鈥檙e appreciated because they鈥檙e saving all local governments across the country money and provincial governments money,鈥� he said.

鈥滸overnment needs to seize this moment. It鈥檚 actually a very inexpensive way to support recruitment and show value to those firefighters and search and rescue personnel, and they deserve it. They鈥檙e putting their lives on the line for us.鈥�

Ken McMullen, president of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, said 2023 was a very 鈥渢ough year鈥� for volunteer firefighters, after 鈥渢he most extreme wildfire activity ever.鈥�

鈥淲e expect another tough year in 2024,鈥� he said.

McMullen said there were 156,000 volunteer firefighters in Canada in 2016, but that was down to 126,000 in 2022.

Increasing the tax credit would be a small step in countering the downward trend. 鈥淲e believe that it鈥檒l keep their morale up, which is needed now more than ever,鈥� he said.

McMullen said recruitment and retention could be facing pressure because of the range of risks faced by first responders, from injuries and increased cancer rates, to the mental health toll of facing emergency situations.

There are also less dangerous options for would-be volunteers, he said, such as local sports teams or youth groups.

鈥淲hatever the case may be, we have seen a reduction of individuals choosing to do the at-risk volunteering,鈥� he said.

The proposed hike in the tax credit is just one way the government could improve things for volunteers, McMullen said.

He said he also hopes the federal government will restore a program that ended in 2013 that allowed fire departments to apply for funding for specialized equipment and training.

He said the country would also 鈥済reatly benefit鈥� if there was a national fire adviser, giving firefighters a voice at the federal level like the U.S. Fire Administration.

McMullen said he and dozens of other chiefs were in Ottawa this month to bring their message to policymakers.

NDP MP Johns said there鈥檚 been a frustrating lack of acknowledgment on the issue.

鈥淓verybody鈥檚 connected in a rural community to the volunteer fire department,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f (the government) wants to start showing Canadians that they鈥檙e serious about listening to rural Canadian needs, this is one thing that they need to do to actually demonstrate that they鈥檙e listening to rural Canada, and they鈥檙e not doing that.鈥�

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