Volunteer search and rescue groups seek funding solution
Posted January 22, 2014 12:19 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) -Thousands of dollars in donations have come in to North Shore Rescue since Tim Jones passed away on Sunday, but the work continues on finding a new way to fund our province’s volunteer search and rescue groups.
They’re trying to make it easier to get their money.
The BC Search and Rescue Association says it’s an effort to chase down the funding right now – about $8-million a year from a number of government sources, including gaming revenue.
Don Bindon, who has worked in volunteer search and rescue for 18 years, would like to simplify the process. “It becomes, not a nightmare, but it certainly becomes a bureaucratic procedural effort to get all of that done.”
Among the solutions, a series of recreation user fees, but Bindon says they’ll leave those decisions to government.
“It wasn’t our intent to suggest we like that idea. We really don’t care, to be candid. We’re an equal opportunity acceptor of money.”
Bindon says it would also be nice if they could get a couple more million dollars in funding along the way.
