Mission and Mandate

What drives the association?

The British Columbia Search and Rescue Association, was registered in 2002 as a non-profit society and enhances the provision of volunteer search and rescue services in the province by facilitating access to funding, educating the general public on outdoor safety, and providing volunteers with a common link to information and resources. The Board of Directors approved their revised purposes and bylaws in January 2007.

The BC Search and Rescue Association Directors are comprised of search and rescue volunteers from all over the province and agency representatives from:

  1. Emergency Management BC (EMBC)
  2. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
  3. The British Columbia Association of Municipal Police
  4. The Justice Institute of BC (JIBC)
  5. The British Columbia Ambulance Service (BCAS)
  6. The Fire Chief’s Association of BC

Together, the volunteers and agency representatives make up the Board of Directors for the BC SAR Association.

Constitution & By-laws in PDF format

The purposes of the Society are:

  1. to enhance and support the delivery of a volunteer community based search and rescue service in British Columbia;
  2. to foster a beneficial working relationship between registered volunteer search and rescue service providers and the agencies responsible for GSAR in British Columbia;
  3. to provide public awareness of ground and inland water search and rescue;
  4. to solicit, receive, control, administer and distribute funds, donations and gifts;
  5. to liaise between all contributors, participants and stakeholders in the ground search and rescue service;
  6. to undertake all duties and responsibilities previously held by the Provincial Search and Rescue Advisory Committee;
  7. to provide and support public prevention, education, and awareness programs which promote safe outdoor activity;
  8. to provide health and safety support to registered volunteer Ground Search and Rescue Groups and volunteers;
  9. to own and dispose of property, both real and personal;
  10. to liaise and interact with SAR organizations in other provinces, countries, and at the federal/national levels;
  11. participate in the recognition of official GSAR groups in British Columbia; and
  12. to promote, develop, support, assist, and deliver local, regional and provincial training for all GSAR volunteers