WHAT NOW? Aug 3, 2026

If the province does not want to call a state of emergency and they are not considering all of your comments and signatures, why haven’t they asked the federal government for assistance? (public safety.gc.ca)This appears to be an option. This does NOT enact a State of Emergency.

A request for federal assistance (RFA) is how a province or territory formally requests support from the federal government in their emergency response efforts. The RFA involves official communication and coordination between provincial, territorial or federal departments and Public Safety. It outlines the additional resources the jurisdiction needs for an effective response.

The province or territory submits a formal RFA request to describe what they would need in federal government support for a successful emergency response. The well-established process in place for managing RFAs, through the Government Operations Centre (GOC), includes interdepartmental consultation and coordination. Again, this is NOT enacting a state of emergency. 

RFAs can include support for:

Operational Coordination;
Emergency Evacuation, Transportation and logistics;
Specialized Response Resources for Wildland Interface fires, flooding, hurricane and extreme weather; and
Emergency Public Health, Medical and Social Services.

My question now is why can’t  Ravi Parmar, Forest Minister consider that with all the wildfires, losses, evacuations and highway closures etc that this emergency has escalated beyond their capacity. Instead he tells the people “now is the time to dig deep BC. There is still three more months of fire season”

 I see that the call for a state of emergency is dividing people and that was not my intention with starting this petition. The Pear Lake fire continues to expand. Fraser Canyon remains closed due to wildfire.  Lightening strikes are starting new fires. People are saying that they are being forgotten by government. Would this not be the next best thing to tap into Federal resources that state “Public Safety’s Government Operations Centre is ready to respond to any situation at any time”?   It is not a bad reflection on all the current hard work of the front line workers. They are amazing and extremely brave. It is asking for additional resources.  I received a response from  Ravi Parmar’s office  today stating that he remains confident how things are going right now and no further action is warranted at this time. This is no longer just a Cariboo situation, new fires exploding across the province daily which will no doubt stretch current fire support capabilities. Any comments? I am considering pausing this petition to prevent any further discourse. Opinions?