Senator Dagenais: I have a supplementary question. Forest fires are burning in the Maritimes, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec. France is half the size of Ontario. Canada is 1,700 times bigger than France, but France, I would remind you, has 197,000 volunteer firefighters. I think it is going to take more than a carbon tax to save the environment. Your Prime Minister urgently needs to have a national vision when it comes to disasters.

Senator Dagenais: I have a supplementary question. Forest fires are burning in the Maritimes, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec. France is half the size of Ontario. Canada is 1,700 times bigger than France, but France, I would remind you, has 197,000 volunteer firefighters. I think it is going to take more than a carbon tax to save the environment. Your Prime Minister urgently needs to have a national vision when it comes to disasters.

Do you honestly believe that Canada has the equipment it needs to fight the forest fires that are plaguing the country?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question and for raising awareness of the challenges posed by the many wildfires burning across Quebec, Alberta, Nova Scotia and the rest of the country.

It is my understanding that a large number of the firefighters in Canada are volunteer firefighters, and one of the challenges facing communities is how hard it is to recruit enough firefighters to meet their increased needs. That being said, and with all due respect, it simply isn’t true that the government isn’t doing anything. On the contrary, following a request by the Province of Quebec, the government approved the deployment of the Canadian Armed Forces to help them deal with the situation.

I’m told that the government is also assessing whether additional federal resources are available to meet the province’s needs. The government knows that the current forest fire situation is and will continue to be difficult across the country for a number of reasons, including the climate, of course, but also a lack of volunteer firefighters. Your suggestion is important, and I will bring it to the minister’s attention.