The search and rescue system in Canada is an emergency in the making.

Ironically, the very system that should be ready to help us when we’re lost or injured in the great Canadian wilderness is sending out its own SOS call.

Stretched to its limits by the combination of an increasing number of outdoor adventurers and shrinking budgets, the SAR system relies to a massive extent on volunteers.  Their skill and daring are impressive, but they’re putting their life on the line with every call – and sacrificing work and family commitments, all without pay.

Expectations of the patchwork system are also higher than ever because “weekend warriors” think they can call 911 or trigger a locator beacon from even the most remote wilderness. The traditional code of self-reliance is becoming lost, replaced by a false sense of security.

To the Rescue searches for the answer to an urgent question: who’s coming to the rescue of Canada’s haphazard search and rescue system?

Directed by Melanie Wood, and written by Melanie Wood and Helen Slinger.  Produced by Sue Ridout, with story producers Shannon Lowry and Sara Darling.  Narrated by Ann-Marie MacDonald.  Director of Photography Ian Kerr; edited by Carmen Pollard, with an original music score composed by Graeme Coleman.

IN MEMORY OF TIM JONES