The federal Minister of Indigenous Services sat down with a number of First Nations leaders in Kamloops last week to talk about disaster prevention.

Seamus O’Regan says the sit-down meeting comes after a tripartite agreement was signed earlier this year between the federal and provincial governments and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs.

“With this agreement, it’s real empowerment of Indigenous communities,”he said. “A clear understanding that they are not just bystanders, they are people who are on the front-lines really of climate change in the North.”

“We need to make sure that they are empowered and equipped, they are the ones best able to look after their communities and we need to help them do that.”

During record wildfires in 2017 and 2018, many First Nations who dealt with fires said government did not treat them as equal partners in the emergency response.

“It’s scary if you’ve ever been in a community that’s been surrounded by wildfire or flooding as well,” O’Reagan added. “And with climate change this is only going to become more pronounced.”