On Monday, May 13 Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson introduced Carter鈥檚 Law to the B.C. legislature.
Named for Carter Vigh, the 100 Mile House youth who passed away last summer due to an asthma attack induced by wildfire smoke, Carter鈥檚 Law seeks to amend the B.C. Wildfire Act and encourage government to consider health concerns caused by the way they manage wildfires.
鈥淭here have been times (lately) where we have incredibly high particulate levels in the air. The smoke can be so thick many of us can鈥檛 see the end of our driveways,鈥� Doerkson explained. 鈥淲e know that Carter lost his life while having an asthma attack he couldn鈥檛 recover from and it happened partially because of the wildfire smoke in the air that day.鈥�
Doerkson said many throughout B.C. have asthma or other health concerns that wildfire smoke can impact. He added he has received calls from senior citizens complaining they can鈥檛 breathe. Some have gone as far as duct-taping their windows to seal the smoke out.
Carter鈥檚 Law would focus on safeguarding vulnerable populations with respiratory conditions. Doerkson said it will encourage B.C. Wildfire to not let wildfires burn for extended periods of time that they could extinguish. During summers like 2023 when more than 200 fires were burning across the province at some points, he said reducing the amount of smoke in an area in any way is important.
鈥溾�楥arter鈥檚 Law鈥� isn鈥檛 just a piece of legislation; it鈥檚 a promise to our community to actively protect those most at risk 鈥� our children and the elderly 鈥� by prioritizing health considerations in wildfire smoke response,鈥� Doerkson explained. 鈥淭his bill represents a heartfelt commitment to helping improve air quality management and safeguarding public health during the devastating wildfire seasons.鈥�
Watching from the gallery while Doerkson presented the bill was the entire Vigh family. Carter鈥檚 mother Amber Vigh said the trip was a bit of a whirlwind for her family who got a tour of parliament and met with B.C. United leader Kevin Falcon and speaker of the house Raj Chouhan.
Vigh said the law is just the latest in a list of incredible things happening in her son鈥檚 name. She appreciates Doerkson naming the amendment for Carter and shining a light on his story.
鈥淐arter鈥檚 Story is going so far and changing lives in so many different ways, it鈥檚 incredible,鈥� Vigh said. 鈥淚鈥檓 super proud we鈥檝e done as much as we have in the last 10 months and that Carter鈥檚 story has such a reach.鈥�
Vigh supports the contents of the bill. If anything she sees Carter鈥檚 Law as an important first step in protecting people like her son from poor air quality.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just not the flames (of wildfires) that wreak havoc on our province. Even if the fire is burning 100 or 200 kilometres away from any infrastructure or human life, the smoke produced by these fires is travelling hundreds, even thousands, of kilometres and killing people,鈥� Vigh said. 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a lot that has to change in how we deal with forest fires and what鈥檚 put into fighting them, but I think Carter鈥檚 Law is a huge step in the right direction.鈥�
Doerkson said he doesn鈥檛 anticipate any opposition from the government on the contents of Carter鈥檚 Law. If all goes well he said the bill could be voted into law during the fall legislature session, just before the anticipated provincial election.
鈥淚t will go on the order paper and then it will be up to the government to call it forward (for a vote). Sadly I don鈥檛 have control of that and of course, there is an election coming,鈥� Doerkson said.
鈥�(Presenting the bill) was an opportunity for me to explain to the legislature what I鈥檓 trying to achieve with this and an opportunity to share Carter鈥檚 story on a provincial scale.鈥�
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