British Columbia is looking for ways to solve the touchy issue of liability coverage for volunteer search-and-rescue teams whose members risk their lives saving people in the wilderness, says Solicitor General Kash Heed.
Heed met with the B.C. Search and Rescue Association on Wednesday to discuss an issue that has seen two search-and-rescue groups to shut down and prompted others to consider doing the same to avoid potential lawsuits.
"I'm hoping that we resolve a lot of these matters sooner versus later," Heed said after the meeting.
"I think there will be a series of resolutions and solutions that we come up with in the next little while."
However, Heed wouldn't say just what those solutions might be.
An unprecedented lawsuit
The concerns stem from a lawsuit by Quebec skier Gilles Blackburn, who is suing the RCMP, the province, a resort and the search-and-rescue squad in Golden after his wife died while the couple waited for help in February.
Golden suspended operations almost immediately after the suit was filed, and Cranbrook wasn't far behind.
In B.C., the provincial government covers volunteers for liability, but the search and rescue societies are responsible for getting their own coverage.
The case has extended far beyond B.C., with search-and-rescue groups across the country being told to check their insurance coverage.
A work in progress
B.C. Search and Rescue Association president Don Bindon appeared confident the issue will be addressed.
"We believe we're working towards a resolution to have them back online," he said of the search-and-rescue teams in Golden and Cranbrook.
"We want them back online long before winter, we need them right now. The summer season is about to begin."
Blackburn's lawsuit alleges the defendants were negligent in not responding to SOS signals he stamped in the snow.
His wife, Marie-Josee Fortin, died of hypothermia seven days into the ordeal.
The couple became lost while skiing from the top of a lift within the resort on Feb. 15.
