M-33 Wildland and forest firefighters

That:

(a) the House recognize that,

(i) wildland and forest firefighters across Canada perform life-threatening public safety duties, including wildfire suppression, evacuations, and the protection of communities, ecosystems, property and critical infrastructure during increasingly severe wildfire seasons,

(ii) climate change has led to longer, hotter, and more destructive wildfire seasons, placing wildland and forest firefighters at growing risk to their physical and mental health,

(iii) wildland and forest firefighters routinely deploy across provinces, territories, and internationally to provide emergency response expertise during major wildfire events,

(iv) despite performing the same dangerous work as other firefighters, wildland and forest firefighters are excluded from the firefighter category in the National Occupational Classification, a misclassification that limits their access to recognition, benefits, and protections available to other firefighters and public safety workers,

(v) this recognition has been afforded to wildland and forest firefighters working directly for the federal government, as well as to other firefighters across the country, allowing them to fight for the appropriate workplace protections and benefits they need as firefighters, first responders, and public safety personnel,

(vi) the National Occupational Classification contains an error that misrepresents an entire category of workers who are employed to fight fires in forests and wildlands, and this category mistake must be corrected,

(vii) in April 2024, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security unanimously supported action to address this inequity, yet no corrective action has been taken,

(viii) in its April 22, 2026, response to petition 451–00582, the government indicated that changes to future versions of the National Occupational Classification could be considered as part of future versions; and

(b) in the opinion of the House, the government should,

(i) immediately correct the misclassification of wildland and forest firefighters in the National Occupational Classification by recognizing them as firefighters,

(ii) remove any and all federal barriers that prevent wildland and forest firefighters from being recognized as the firefighters and public safety workers that they are,

(iii) report to Parliament on its progress toward achieving these goals.