There is no way to enforce fire codes in First Nations, and new law would be expensive: document

There is no way to enforce building or fire codes on First Nations and seeking a legislative solution would be time-consuming and expensive, federal officials warn in an internal briefing.

But Blaine Wiggins, chief director of the Indian Fire Service, said the enforcement gap has “catastrophic” consequences.

Home fires have long posed a huge safety risk to those living on the reservation, with several children dying in fires that broke out in communities earlier this year in southern Alberta and northern Ontario.

Indigenous leaders and experts link the high number of deadly home fires on reservations to a lack of adequate housing and overcrowding, as well as insufficient funding and education on fire protection.

Both the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs and the Aboriginal Firefighters Association of Canada have called on Ottawa to pass legislation to apply building and fire codes to First Nations communities and require inspections.

But a briefing paper prepared for Canada’s deputy minister for Indigenous Services says there is currently no way to enforce provincial or national building or fire codes for buildings on reserves.

The document, which was obtained by The Canadian Press, says the department can ensure infrastructure it funds adheres to such codes, but the only other compliance option for individual First Nations is to pass “ad hoc statutes.”

“While there is long-standing recognition of the need to address compliance with respect to building and fire codes for other infrastructure and housing, there is not broad support for an approach to building and fire code enforcement in the reservation,” officials said.

Provincial fire services can decommission a building off the reservation if they feel it endangers the lives of people inside, but that is more complex for structures on the reservation, the document says.

“As most fire deaths occur in residential buildings, enacting a similar approach for communities on the reservation would mean that First Nations people could have restricted access to their property on First Nations land,” officials said in the briefing note.

“Such an approach requires careful consideration and would require significant consultation.”

Wiggins says that whether it is new legislation or a statute enacted by a First Nation, the government must provide the funds and resources necessary to ensure these standards are met.

“There is concern among First Nations leaders, as with other legislation, once the legislation is implemented, it has not been adequately funded by the federal government, therefore it failed,” he said.

The briefing paper appears to show that federal bureaucrats feel the same way. Fire protection, officials said, is not legislated as an essential service, and ongoing efforts to designate First Nations policing as essential come at a high cost.

“A legislative approach to fire protection would likely follow a similar path requiring early and significant commitments to funding and program,” the document reads.

A spokesperson for Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu said in a statement that the government does not plan to legislate fire protection after consultation with First Nations partners and communities.

“It was determined that legislation would not be the best approach at this time. Rather, the focus should remain on identifying and understanding the gaps that currently exist and working to close them,” the statement read.

“If indigenous leaders identify legislation as a priority going forward, the federal government will be receptive to this advice and open to working collaboratively.”

Indian Services Canada is currently working with the Assembly of First Nations to implement a new fire protection strategy to improve the use of fire codes.

In 2021, Ontario’s chief coroner said in a report on First Nations fire deaths that there is “jurisdictional neglect”.

That review, which followed several fatal fires on Ontario reservations, said that because First Nations land is regulated by the federal Indian Act, provincial building codes are generally not enforced and First Nations often end up falling through the cracks.

“Disputes between the federal and provincial governments over their respective jurisdictions have contributed to chronic underfunding and fragmented and inadequate service delivery to indigenous communities,” the review concluded.

He also said that most of the fatal fires in First Nations occurred in a house that was missing a smoke alarm, or had one that was not working.

That’s one area Wiggins thinks Ottawa needs to act on.

“All jurisdictions are legally required to have a smoke alarm in the home… except First Nations,” he said. “First Nations are not required by any legislation to have that simple tool.

“We’ve asked the federal government to pass legislation that says you have to make smoke alarms work in a house…nothing more complicated than that and then give us a mandate to help all communities comply with that.” .

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on October 5, 2022.