Sharon Hartwell, MLA for Bulkley Valley-Stikine and Critic for Rural Communities and Rural Development, is calling on the provincial government to fund the long-overdue replacement of Kitwanga's Emergency Services Building.
Hartwell highlighted this urgent need in an open letter to Minister of Public Safety Gary Begg. Housed in a leased decades-old former provincial forest service building, the current ambulance station does not meet the needs of a modern emergency service. It had also been condemned because of mould and weather damage.
Situated an hour east of Terrace just north of the intersection of Hwy 16 and Hwy 37 North, Kitwanga does not have an ambulance or firetruck. In the past, the ambulance that was housed in Kitwanga responded to approximately 600 calls per year.
“The community has been fundraising for over a decade to replace their ambulance station, yet they still require funding to complete the project,” said Hartwell. “This is a matter of life and death. Residents have already lost their lives due to the lack of emergency services, and the nearest ambulance is a minimum of 45 minutes away.”
"Small communities matter, and we can't grow and sustain our community without adequate health and safety structure in place," said Cathy Morgan, finance director of the Kitwanga Community Association.
"Everyone knows there's a need for a new ambulance station here. They know we don't have fire protection currently," she continued. "Our coverage comes voluntarily from our reserves, from our neighbouring communities like Terrace and Hazelton."
It takes paramedics and firefighters 45 minutes to drive in from Hazelton and 60 minutes from Terrace.
"They've never not come when there's been a fire and they're not covered liability-wise to cover fires off reserve. They're taking a risk to get us covered," Morgan said.
She also noted that in the Kitwanga area, a majority of the population is First Nations.
"The Truth and Reconciliation Call to Actions talk about improving health equities for rural communities, especially Indigenous rural communities. We have a higher proportion of First Nations people that live in this area and rely on our ambulance," she said.
Through efforts such as their annual Humpy Run in September and donations from the mining and business sectors, the Kitwanga Community Association has raised $928,000 in cash and commitments.
Construction costs have been pegged in the neighbourhood of $1.5 million, which does not include the value of a half-acre lot donated in 2018. B.C. Emergency Health Services have told the community that they would lease the new station once an ambulance station is built.
Progress has been delayed as the association is awaiting coordination from B.C. Emergency Health Services and the Provincial Health Services Authority.
"Volunteers with the Kitwanga Community Association have pushed to raise this money, which has been given through local donations and business leaders. Now we need regional and provincial governments to coordinate their support," said Morgan.
Two of the grants they have received have caveats that the project must commence within 12 months of receiving them. They were given in November and December of 2024 respectively, so the project must begin by the end of 2025. These grants also work in a way that the community has to put out the funds first and they will get reimbursed afterward.
The new station would include crew quarters, a meeting room, and two bays — one for an ambulance and one for a firetruck. It would be built on a half-acre lot on Nelson Road.
