OPINIONS LET IT BURN

Is the RM of Vanscoy Council seriously prepared to rip apart our current Fire Protection Service and leave the entire RM at risk? As for me, I believe they have not even begun to contemplate the consequences of withdrawing from the Delisle & District Fire Commission.

In my opinion our current fire Protection Service is very well trained, dedicated and has a passion for the service they volunteer to provide our community. They give freely of their time to attend community events, provide education, and participate in our local schools. I can not begin to tally the number of properties they have protected and the lives they have saved. My own child is still with us because of their amazing dedication.

So why would the RM of Vanscoy council want to effectively put an end to this Department? As time has passed since I first became aware of this decision and started to investigate, I have been able to gather a few clues to some of the underlying “issues”. In April and May I attended both RM council meetings and both Delisle & District Fire Commission meetings. As a resident looking in I feel a majority of this decision comes down to personality conflicts, people wanting call all the shots and adults acting like children. I believe this decision was made from anger, decisions were made in haste and not thoughtfully contemplated. The RM of Vanscoy Council has failed to adequately formulate a plan. The RM Council has shared that there has been no analysis of how this decision will impact RM residents or the larger community as a whole. They have no costing projection even though they have told RM residents there will be no tax increases. This is a great example of why there needs to be a feasibility study and business plan before this major decision is made.

My opinion of the RM leaving the Delisle and District Fire Commission is that it is a short sighted and fool hardy move. Communities are always stronger working together towards a common goal. The Town of Delisle, Village of Vanscoy and the RM as a whole are our community. Our children go to school together, We gather to support sports teams and families in crisis. It doesn’t matter where exactly our houses are we are a community! So how does the RM council think it will build a stronger fire service by itself ? When you are part of a community you work together to make things better. Are there improvements to be made ? Possibly. Should those not be brought to the people who represent us at the Commission and be worked on together ? You don’t just stomp your foot because you don’t get your way and then storm off on your own. You sit at the table and work out your differences. Then you work together to improve the community.

With their lack of foresight, the RM council ensures our fire service will be inferior to what we have today if they follow through on leaving the Delisle & District Fire Commission at the end of the year. They have yet to negotiate coverage with bordering fire departments. Where will the volunteers come from ? It takes 6 months to a year to train a new volunteer to the provincial standard. There is literally no time to do this before the end of the year. In my opinion it will take years and tens of thousands of dollars to train a group of volunteers that will meet the skill, knowledge and experience we already have. The other issue is that they will leave the current Fire Department with a lack of equipment and resources. This puts our community members in Delisle and Vanscoy at risk as well. I believe every major decision comes down to the Pro’s and Con’s of that choice. In my opinion the Pro’s of the RM staying a part of the Delisle and District Fire Commission far out way the Con’s.

So, I am left with this question: Is the RM of Vanscoy Council seriously prepared to put an end to our current Fire Protective service and leave all of us at risk ? For what ?

Terri-lyn Lenz Resident RM of Vanscoy