B.C. agrees to cover rescue teams' liability insurance

Tuesday, March 30, 2010 CBC NEWS:

The B.C. government has struck a deal with search and rescue workers, agreeing to cover their liability insurance for the foreseeable future. Solicitor General Kash Heed said he has found another $180,000 for the B.C. Search and Rescue Association. "I'm committing, as we go forward, to cover the liability insurance for search and rescue teams here in British Columbia," said Heed. Liability insurance has become a concern ever since a Quebec man whose wife died in the backcountry near Golden, B.C., two days before a rescue team arrived sued the Golden and District Search and Rescue Association last year. The couple had been stranded in the backcountry for a week after skiing out of bounds at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. After the lawsuit was launched, several teams suspended operations temporarily fearing they, too, could be sued. Then last August, the provincial government earmarked money from gaming grants to cover liability insurance.

That funding was due to run out this summer. Now, the solicitor general says the money will continue to flow in a multi-year commitment. But NDP MLA Mike Farnworth wants to see that promise in print. "What I think we need to see is a statement that this is core funding that will take place every year," said Farnworth. Alberta has set a good example by putting its commitment to cover the cost of liability insurance for search and rescue teams into law, said Farnworth.