Loyalist Township will be entering into an agreement with Fire Marque Inc. to recover costs related to fire departments in the area responding to calls.

Fire Marque Inc. is a privately-owned Canadian company currently providing fire department cost recovery programs to many municipalities and First Nations across Canada. The program is designed to obtain funds from insurance companies in the event of a fire. According to Fire Marque, most insurance policies in Canada have fire department expense coverage included in the premiums. Fire Marque invoices the insurance companies on behalf of its clients to obtain these funds.

In their report to council, emergency services staff noted that although some cost recovery is available for certain type of responses, such as motor vehicle collisions on provincial highways, many other response types do not qualify. While operational costs continue to climb, council agreed the Fire Marque program would be beneficial to the municipality.

All funds recovered through this program will be used to help offset the emergency services department budget. It will go towards public education, fire training, and capital equipment purchases. Mayor Jim Hegadorn noted the transparency and financial benefit of the agreement.

"I actually like the fact that it's written right into it that it's designated for the fire department, in a few areas, so that we know it's being re-invested right back into the service that helps serve the community," said Hegadorn.

Now, with council's initial approval, staff will prepare a contract and amendments for two supporting by-laws. The current Fire Department Establishing and Regulating by-law, and the Miscellaneous Fees by-law will need to be amended to provide authorization for Fire Marque Inc. to collect fees on the township's behalf. These will be brought back to council for their final approval.

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