Development Permits

The purpose of the provincial, territorial and federal legislation is to provide the legal framework for local action by establishing the powers, duties and functions necessary for local decision makers to respond to the needs of their communities. [...] Some of the largest fire losses ever experienced in Canada include the Miramichi Fire in 1825, the Saguenay Fire in 1870, Cochrane Fire in 1911, Matheson Fires in 1916, the Great Saskatchewan Fire in 1919, and the Haileybury Fire in 1922 (McIntyre 2003). [...] Moreover, the extended period of safety was one of the factors that encouraged more people to pursue recreation activities in the wildland and to live in the wildland-urban interface. [...] The Forest Service in the United States has withdrawn its commitment to suppress all fires in the wildland; nevertheless, firefighting efforts in Canada and the United States continue to focus on the early identification and suppression of fires in the wildland. [...] Moreover, the number of Canadians living in the interface and visiting the wildland continues to grow and evidence is mounting that change in the climate will significantly increase the expected area burned.