I'm happy to comment on that as well. You're right: firefighting and fire protection have been a municipal responsibility. Actually, one of the reasons municipal governments were first incorporated was, of course, to provide fire protection; therefore, it's definitely within provincial jurisdiction.
One important argument for there being a federal interest in this is that although, clearly, especially with composite forces and larger municipalities, it's not just a rural, remote, and small community issue, largely it is. I think this kind of measure should be seen within the federal government's strategy to ensure the sustainability of rural Canada, which of course has tremendous national benefits in terms of access to resources, employment, and that kind of thing. Taken within the lens of rural economic development and sustainability, I think there is a very strong argument to be made.
The other thing, of course, is the protection that is offered through that volunteer firefighting service. If there weren't volunteers available, it probably would not be provided. Obviously it does provide a significant impact to the economy at large because of the prevention of loss from fire that it offers.