The Alberta government is cutting half a million dollars in grant funding for firefighter training.

An information bulletin from the Alberta Fire Chiefs Association (AFCA) said a letter was sent out from the minister of municipal affairs announcing the cuts, which is the entire amount of funding available for firefighter training.

The AFCA goes on to say: “The elimination of this training grant will directly impact volunteer departments already under stress in both small communities and rural communities.”

Clayton Rutberg with the Coaldale Fire Department said it’s disappointing to hear about the funding cuts.

“Training is critical to their safety and the safety of the public so it’s quite essential that they do get that minimum amount of training.”

Municipal affairs spokesperson Timothy Gerwig issued a statement:

“The delivery of fire services is a municipal responsibility, meaning fire departments and their training budgets are funded by local governments.

“Given this, we have dissolved a small training grant that was developed in better economic times.

“We value the tremendous work firefighters do and continue to work with municipalities across the province to ensure public safety is protected.”

The government said the cuts should not have much of an impact on training or services.

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