Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm going to start with the minister.
We are in a climate emergency, and the Jasper fires highlight how this crisis is impacting everything that we hold dear.
I have formative memories of my time in Jasper, hiking and visiting friends who were working in tourism and hospitality there. I was in complete awe of the beauty and the power of that place.
These events are happening more frequently. They're going to get more severe. The area burned in 2023 was more than six times the historic average.
New Democrats have been calling for the establishment of a national firefighting force to deal with future wildfire emergencies. In my province of B.C., like in Alberta, we are dealing with multi-year droughts, which make wildfires even more likely.
We wrote to you calling for a $1-billion watershed security fund. These two policies could protect watersheds, prevent disasters and tackle wildfires. I'm curious why your government hasn't implemented them.