44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 5, 2023 11:00AM
- Jun/5/23 4:03:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am surprised that the NDP House leader knows so little about the procedural workings of this place. I had no idea that New Democrats were planning to request an emergency debate.
Maybe it is on the member's Twitter. I do not follow him on Twitter, so I really had no idea, but—
Mr. Peter Julien: It is in the media. It is on TV and in the newspapers.
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- Jun/5/23 6:58:18 p.m.
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I wish to inform the House that I have received notice of a request for an emergency debate. I invite the hon. member for South Okanagan—West Kootenay to rise to make a brief intervention.
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- Jun/5/23 6:58:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to ask for an emergency debate on the urgent and escalating wildfire situation in Canada.
I want to first say that our hearts are with the 30,000 Canadians who are still out of their homes and the many hundreds who have lost everything in these fires. I thank the firefighters on land and in the air for their brave and dangerous work keeping all of us safe.
More than 400 fires are burning right now across the country from Vancouver Island to Nova Scotia. More than 3.6 million hectares have been torched so far this year, and it is only the first week of June. We have a long, hot fire season ahead of us.
Local and provincial first responders have been overwhelmed. It is clear that we need to re-evaluate the federal role in wildfire protection and response to develop a more proactive process, instead of the present reactive one, and we must do as much of this as possible as quickly as possible in the next few weeks, before summer truly arrives.
This process and support to affected parts of the country should be informed by the urgent debate of Parliament, so I therefore ask for an emergency debate tonight here in the House of Commons.
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- Jun/5/23 6:59:43 p.m.
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I thank the hon. member for South Okanagan—West Kootenay for his intervention. The Speaker is prepared to grant an emergency debate concerning the wildfire situation across Canada. This debate will be held later today at 10 p.m., pursuant to the order made on November 15, 2022.
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- Jun/5/23 7:00:26 p.m.
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I wish to inform the House that I have received three notices for requests for an emergency debate concerning the same subject. I invite the hon. members for Regina—Qu'Appelle, Calgary Forest Lawn and Parry Sound—Muskoka to rise and make brief interventions.
The hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn.
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- Jun/5/23 10:12:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I first want to reiterate all my best wishes in solidarity with every community that has been affected in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada because of the current crisis. I understand that this is an important topic. It is actually urgent.
When the NDP requested this emergency debate this evening, the member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie said that the federal government should do more and do better, including with respect to planning, training and accessibility to equipment.
I am not sure whether my colleague could inform me about the situation in his home province, because in Quebec, as far as I know, the federal government's response has been swift. I am not saying that the government is perfect, but when Minister Bonnardel in Quebec City asked for help from the Canadian Armed Forces, it took only a few hours for the Minister of Emergency Preparedness to accept the request and send boots on the ground. All in all, crisis management seems to be going well so far.
That may not be the case in the rest of Canada. I would like my colleague to say a few words about that.
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- Jun/5/23 10:43:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, earlier this evening, I had the opportunity to personally thank the Minister of Emergency Preparedness, who has been providing the opposition parties with daily updates on the situation in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada. We are very grateful for that. When Minister Bonnardel requested federal assistance, the federal government was quick to respond. That is reassuring.
What is not so reassuring, however, is to hear the Canadian Prime Minister and the Quebec premier say that the current situation could continue throughout the summer. This is an abnormal situation that will become increasingly normal. The local authorities and the provinces are doing an extraordinary job, and I think the federal government's role is to lend its support where necessary.
However, if this situation does become increasingly normal, does the federal government even currently have the capacity and resources to support the provinces?
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- Jun/5/23 10:44:29 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, this has been an all-hands-on-deck approach. We are working in very close collaboration with municipalities, provinces and territories.
We are closely following the wildfires across Quebec. We have been in touch with, of course, the province to ensure that they have all the support that they need. Following requests from the province, we have approved the deployment of Canadian Armed Forces to assist in that response. Officials are also continuing to assess where further available federal resources will be needed.
We know that this has been and will continue to be a very challenging wildfire situation across the country. As in the past, the Minister of Emergency Preparedness has been working very much in collaboration with members of this House to make sure that they are informed of all the decisions that we are making and to make sure that they have all the resources and tools needed.
This is an all-hands-on-deck approach and we are going to continue to support those communities wherever needed.
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- Jun/5/23 10:54:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to start by recognizing and appreciating the member for Sudbury and the federal government's response to deploy resources across the country, as well as its collaboration across parties.
I want to ask the member a question. She mentioned the term “all hands on deck”, and I think that is the response we have seen in this emergency. However, we also have to recognize that we did not just fall into this. It has been decades in the making. It is a climate crisis that is fuelling these wild fires. It is not one party. We have never had an “all hands on deck” response to this climate crisis.
Could the member reflect on the human condition of why it is that we are so much better at getting all hands on deck in emergencies than proactively ensuring that we do not end up in this place in the first place?
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