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<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\tNWT SARVAC Director Bill Peck, in blue shirt, poses for a photo in Yellowknife on August 13th at a $3 million federal funding announcement for Search and Rescue Volunteers Association of Canada. (James O\u2019Connor\/CKLB)<\/p>\n
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NWT SARVAC Director Bill Peck said the funding \u201cmakes an enormous difference\u201d for the volunteer organization, especially as it covers insurance during searches.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe insurance is the big one \u2014 that is a very, very expensive expense for us to take on,\u201d he said. \u201cIf, unfortunately, something were to happen to any of the 10,000-plus volunteers, having that reassurance that their back is covered, their families can have some peace of mind. That\u2019s a very big one for us.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Peck said the funding commitment from Ottawa provides SARVAC with stability, continuity, and the ability to plan and deliver essential supports over the longer term.\n<\/p>\n
SARVAC represents almost 10,000 ground search and rescue volunteers and close to 300 teams across Canada.\n<\/p>\n
In 2024-25 alone, that volunteer network was tasked on more than 2,900 searches and contributed more than 222,000 hours dedicated to search operations.\n<\/p>\n
This is in addition to the hundreds of thousands of hours dedicated to training, administration, prevention, and community service.\n<\/p>\n
Said Peck: \u201cFrom a Northern perspective, the value of strong national coordination is especially clear. The Northwest Territories and other Northern and remote regions face realities that are very different from many parts of the country.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got vast distances, isolated communities, challenging environments, and limited local resources. As a search manager myself, I know how a strong local volunteer capacity will always be essential.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd connecting that capacity to national standards, training tools, relationships, and support makes the overall system so much stronger, and our ability to carry out our response much, much more effective.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tRCMP G-Division Supt. Dyson Smith speaks in Yellowknife on August 13th at a $3 million federal funding announcement for Search and Rescue Volunteers Association of Canada (SARVAC), as Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty, Emergency Management and Community Resilience Minister Eleanor Olszewski, and NWT SARVAC Director Bill Peck look on. (James O\u2019Connor\/CKLB) RCMP G-Division Superintendent Dyson Smith said the North presents unique challenges for searches.<\/p>\n \u201cOur vast geography, remote communities, changing weather conditions, and rugged terrain mean that when someone goes missing, or is in distress, successful search and rescue operations require extraordinary teamwork, coordination, and dedication,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n Those challenges are not abstract:\n<\/p>\n In 2023, there were 23 search and rescue calls in the territory; \u201cEach call represents a person, a family, a community looking for help, often in difficult conditions and across immense distances,\u201d said Smith.\n<\/p>\n \u201cSearch and rescue reflects the spirit of the Northwest Territories itself \u2014 rooted in resiliency, cooperation, and the understanding that in the North we look after one another, whether responding to lost travelers, overdue hunters, missing persons, or people facing unexpected emergencies on the land, the collective efforts of our partners save lives and provide comfort to families during some of their most difficult moments\u201d\n<\/p>\n Emergency Management and Community Resilience Minister Eleanor Olszewski said, \u201cas we all know, when someone is lost, when they\u2019re in danger, absolutely every second matters. So how we manage that kind of emergency is fundamentally important. (The volunteers searchers) leave their homes, they leave their families, they leave their jobs, and they head out sometimes in the middle of the night.\n<\/p>\n She continued: \u201cSo, what will this money do? It will help support the creation of national standards so that search and rescue teams can train and prepare and work together effectively, especially when a major operation brings together responders from different jurisdictions, or in fact, just different kinds of response teams.\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt will also help support prevention, (known as AdventureSmart<\/a>) because we know that the best search-and-rescue operation is one that never has to happen.\n<\/p>\n \u201cHelping Canadians understand how to prepare before heading outdoors, what to do when something goes wrong, can prevent emergencies and can obviously save lives.\u201d\n<\/p>\n In 2024 to 2025, GSAR volunteers delivered 705 AdventureSmart presentations, reaching more than 32,000 participants across Canada.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GSAR-a-x.jpg\")
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\nin 2024, there were 24; and
\nin 2025, the number rose to 28.<\/p>\n
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