Active wildfire map, July 16 (Image Credit: BC Wildfire Service)

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: B.C. State of Emergency needed for both practical and symbolic reasons

Jul 16, 2021 | 10:50 AM

IT MIGHT BE STUBBORNNESS, it might be ignorance, or it might be embarrassment that is preventing politicians from declaring a provincial State of Emergency in B.C., but it is certainly not the logistical needs we are seeing.

What we are seeing this year in terms of our fire activity is really not dissimilar from 2017 and 2018, when states of emergency were quickly called for and put in place.

Either they weren’t warranted then, or one is now.

In a news conference Thursday (July 15), BC Wildfire Service officials told us their crews are being stretched to the limit.

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They told us they can’t even respond to every wildfire that pops up right now; they have to stick to the ones that threaten lives and properties.

They told us we are receiving almost no help from outside of B.C. because our friends and neighbours are envisioning the same thing happening in their own backyards — and it could.

They also told us they are confident in their current approach. Based on everything else they said, it was hardly convincing.

Enacting a state of emergency is not just symbolic.

The powers it gives the government allow it to cut through a lot of the red tape that might hamper its response to the fires.

There are qualified people sitting on the sidelines, waiting to help, and a state of emergency would clear their path.

There need to be limits on government powers, but in a wildfire situation, we need the wildfire service to be free to do what it takes to keep us safe.

That being said, a state of emergency is largely symbolic — a big symbol that matters to people.

It tells us that our government recognizes what’s going on and is doing everything it can to extinguish these fires as soon as possible.

If John Horgan is Premier Dad — a role he relishes and plays up — he should act like that protector archetype.

Rather than flying over Lytton once, as he did last week, then dropping into Kamloops to deliver platitudes before jetting off to Victoria again, he needs to be here.

Horgan needs to show the Interior that he is the premier for the entire province, not just the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, where he finds the majority of his electoral support.

It’s unfortunate that this has become a political football, but it was Horgan himself who could have avoided that.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.