Rural Municipality of Vanscoy’s Withdrawal from Fire Commission Sparks Backlash

On March 28 the Rural Municipality of Vanscoy issued a public notice stating that they were withdrawing from the Delisle & District Fire Commission, leaving the remaining two minority shareholders, the Town of Delisle and the Village of Vanscoy, to fend for themselves and the residents in the R.M. wondering where their firefighting services would now come from.

The notice also states that the R.M. is in negotiations to secure mutual aid agreements for the future and assures residents that there would be no disruption to services for the remainder of the current agreement, which will expire on December 31, 2023.

Many residents are concerned about just what those future agreements will provide, as fire insurance rates are based on distances from fire stations and life and human safety obviously rely on response times.

R.M. resident Terri-lyn Lenz came across the notice on social media and contacted her Division Counsellor and the Reeve, who responded but would not share any more information. She requested to be a delegate at the April 13 R.M. council meeting where she again expressed her concerns and asked for Council to better explain as to why the council was moving to effectively dismantle the fire commission by withdrawing, since the RM holds the majority of the assets and taking them out would leave the commission disfunctional. She has yet to receive any response.

The RM Review has also reached out to all members of the R.M. council for comment with no response yet.

Terri-lyn has since set-up a Facebook page and has organized a couple of meetings for concerned citizens, the most recent on April 24, where 100 residents filled the Vanscoy hall to discuss a course of action to get answers from the R.M. council. After much discussion, a petition to force a binding referendum on the R.M. to immediately cease their intention to withdraw from the Delisle & District Fire Commission and to hold public hearings before taking any action to change their participation in the fire commission.

15% (about 500) of R.M. residents, are required for the petition to go to the council.

There is an irrevocable 6 month deadline, from date of application to withdraw from the commission, and many residents want a response before that happens. More information is on their Facebook page at RM Vanscoy residents concerned about fire protection service or email to vanscoycitizens@gmail.com