$8.80 for a fire permit in WINTER?! That's asinine.
The campgrounds around here you never need a fire permit at any time of the year. Now obviously there's fire bans when the fire risk gets too high, but other than that you can have a fire whenever for free.
We're very fortunate in BC in a lot of ways, I'm seeing.
Yeah, camping on crown land is always free. I prefer bush camping whenever possible because of the adventure factor :D