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Below are updates regarding the ongoing liability issue concerning volunteers performing trail building and maintenance in BC Parks. ORC and the FMCBC are working together to try to resolve this issue, get some straight answers and get volunteers working in BC Parks again.
Below is a response from BC Minister of the Environment Terry Lake to ORC's letter dated June 27th on the subject of re-introducing a program for volunteers to work in BC Parks. A link to the volunteer agreement discussed in the letter can be downloaded at the bottom of this page. As per Jeremy's email to us on August 18th, 2011, he plans to respond to the Minister to thank him for his commitment to investigate whether the liability insurance scheme used for volunteers with the Recreation Sites & Trails Branch of the Ministry of Forests, Lands & Natural Resource Operations (known as the FRIP program) could be extended for use with volunteers in BC Parks. In his response, Jeremy will also be querying some of the wording used in the Individual Volunteer Agreement such as naming the applicable Ministry, describing the Bureau and summarizing the type of insurance the Volunteer would be agreeing to. Reference: 140481
August 17, 2011
Jeremy McCall, Executive Director and Robert Gunn, Chair Outdoor Recreation Council of British Columbia Email: outdoorrec@orcbc.ca
Dear Mr. McCall and Mr. Gunn:
Thank you for your email of May 4, 2011, and follow-up email of June 27, 2011, also signed by Robert Gunn, Chair of the Outdoor Recreation Council of British Columbia, regarding volunteers in BC Parks. I apologize for the delay in responding.
I regret the frustration you have experienced seeking clarification on the ability of non-governmental organization (NGO) volunteers to contribute to trail maintenance in BC Parks. This topic is very important to BC Parks, and I can confirm that the development of a volunteer strategy is a priority on the agency’s work plan for 2011/12. I have asked Ms. Lori Halls, Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM), BC Parks and Conservation Officer Service Division, to meet with you to get your input on the development of the volunteer strategy.
In the meantime, as requested in your letter, I am attaching a copy of the current volunteer agreement used by the Ministry of Environment for individual volunteers. It can be obtained from BC Parks regional staff who would develop the project and supervise the volunteers.
BC Parks staff have considered the information provided to you by Ms. Tessa Graham, former acting ADM responsible for BC Parks, in her March 2011 letter pertaining to staff authorized to sign volunteer agreements and we have determined that the Ministry representative should be the direct supervisor of the staff member coordinating the project (for example, if a Park Ranger is leading the project, the appropriate area supervisor is able to sign the volunteer agreement).
With respect to liability insurance, the provincial Volunteer Insurance Program applies only to individuals who volunteer directly to the Province; however, as you mention, the Recreation Sites and Trails Branch does have a special program to offer third-party liability insurance to their agreement holders. BC Parks will review this program with the Government of British Columbia’s Risk Management Branch to see if it can be extended to park lands.
I trust that this information addresses the questions posed in your letter. I appreciate the continued commitment of the Outdoor Recreation Council to British Columbia’s protected areas system and look forward to a continued working relationship.
Thank you again for writing and sharing your concerns on this matter.
Sincerely,
Original Signed By
Terry Lake Minister of Environment
Attachment
cc: Lori Halls, ADM, BC Parks and Conservation Officer Service Division, Ministry of Environment
On June 27, 2011 Jeremy Mcall, Executive Director for the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC e-mailed the attached letter to the Hon. Terry Lake, Minister of Environment, enclosing the Resolution ORC passed at their AGM in June on the subject of re-introducing a program for volunteers to work in BC Parks. ORC also decided at their AGM to ask any club which has experienced difficulties in this area of arranging for volunteers to work in BC Parks to write the Minister to describe their experiences and support ORC’s Resolution. McCall's hope is to get some traction on this issue during this BC Parks Centenary year. Please also note that in the letter ORC has offered to assist BC Parks with getting the volunteer program operating again as they want to emphasize the constructive aspects of this campaign. On February 8, 2011, Brian Wood (FMCBC President), Alex Wallace (FMCBC Trails Committee Co-Chair) and Jeremy McCall (Executive Director for Outdoor Recreation Council of BC) went to Victoria to meet with Tessa Graham, the Acting Executive Director, Parks and Protected Areas, BC Parks to get a firm answer relating to liability insurance protection for the volunteers doing trail work and maintenance in BC Parks. This meeting was a follow up to a larger meeting held on September 24th, 2010 with Scott Benton who was the Executive Director Regional Operations for BC Parks at that time. The September meeting was organized by ORC and attended by Wallace and Patrick Harrison (FMCBC Trails Committee Co-Chair). Click here for a report on the September 24, 2010 meeting.
On February 9, 2011 McCall sent a letter to Graham to confirm details from their meeting on February 8, 2011. His letter can be viewed here. Graham sent a response to McCall's letter on February 23, 2011 which can be viewed here.
Graham's letter outlines how individuals volunteering in BC Parks are covered by Commercial General Liability Insurance and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance provided by the Province (coverage summaries can be viewed here), but stipulates that the coverage is only valid if the volunteers have signed a Volunteer Agreement with BC Parks which specifies the nature, location and timing of the work.
Some clarification is still needed and McCall has currently taken the lead on this and reported back to the FMCBC via email on March 17, 2011 with the following information:
To ORC’s Member Organizations
On September 24, 2010, ORC arranged a meeting with Scott Benton, who was at that time the Executive Director of BC Parks, to try to get some certainty about the ground rules for volunteers carrying out work such as trail maintenance in BC Parks. About a dozen ORC members attended the meeting. The most significant piece of information which Mr Benton told us that day was that the BC Parks Volunteer Program and manual had effectively been discontinued in 2002.
We raised questions about the following subjects:
· The role of volunteers · Responsiveness of BC Parks personnel to volunteers. · Protocols for communication between volunteers and BC Parks · Requirements for supervision of volunteers by BC Parks personnel · Guidelines for volunteer involvement · Coverage of third party liability for volunteers and for directors and officers of NGOs · Work planning and scope of work undertaken by volunteers · Training of volunteers · Use of power tools by volunteers · Trail standards
Thanks to a follow-up meeting we organized with Tessa Graham, the new Acting Executive Director of BC Parks, in Victoria on February 8, and follow-up correspondence from that meeting we now have definitive answers to most of our questions.
· Individual volunteers who sign an Individual Volunteer Agreement will be covered by insurance when they undertake work in BC Parks. · The insurance coverage is $2 million per occurrence for general liability with certain additional provisions, and $40,000 for Accidental Death & Dismemberment with certain provisions regarding partial or total disability payments. · There is no insurance coverage for the Directors and Officers of NGOs which organize volunteers to work in BC Parks. · So far we have been unable to obtain copies of the current version of the Individual Volunteer Agreement. BC Parks have advised us that it is under review. · Individual Volunteer Agreements will generally be for short, finite terms to address a specific task, though they could be set up for longer term seasonal work. · The level of supervision will depend on the nature of the work. The implication appears to be that most work will need to be supervised in some way. Only BC Parks personnel can use power tools. · Individual Volunteer Agreements must be approved by Regional Managers of BC Parks.
While we are pleased to finally have some clarity on most of these issues, ORC is disappointed that the role of NGOs will necessarily be constrained by the lack of liability insurance coverage for their Directors and Officers if they organize groups of volunteers to work in BC Parks. Of course they can rely on their own liability coverage or Directors & Officers Errors & Omissions insurance if they wish, but they may not choose not to expose themselves or their organizations to those additional risks.
By way of contrast to the position at BC Parks, we have learned that NGOs which take responsibility for specific recreation sites and trails are covered under the Forest Recreation Insurance Program (FRIP). When such an NGO enters into a Recreation Site or Trail Agreement with MNRO the NGO is covered by a $2 million general liability policy. This appears to be the type of policy that BC Parks needs for some situations.
ORC will continue to work with BC Parks and the Province’s Risk Management Branch to see whether the FRIP approach can be extended to BC Parks when the situation warrants it.
If members have questions about any of the above issues I will either do my best to answer them or I will get answers from the appropriate agencies.
Jeremy McCall |
BC Parks Volunteer Trail Maintenance |