Across Canada, 83 per cent of firefighters are
volunteers.1 In many small and rural communities,
volunteer firefighters may be the only firefighters available. In
fact, the Standing Committee on Alberta's Economic Future (the
Committee) mentioned that many municipalities in Alberta would not
be economically viable without volunteer firefighters.2
However, many volunteer firefighters also have full-time
commitments to their employers aside from firefighting, and many of
these occupations may not offer the flexibility required for a
volunteer firefighter to respond immediately to calls. In some
instances, volunteer firefighters may even face termination of
employment for leaving work to attend to calls as seen in the
British Columbia Arbitration decision, Mainroad Group and
BCGEU, Local 10-01 (Buckley), Re. The employee's
employment was ultimately reinstated.3
