I think to be prepared is one thing.... We're prepared. We live here. We've lived here for generations. If fire comes, we know what to do. Nowadays, we go from flood season in the spring to fire season and pandemics. We're well rehearsed.
The issue I see here is with government officials. As I said earlier, the fires were never a threat to us. It was government officials who were a threat. The first response of every government official who came into our community in 2017 was to ask questions like, “Do you guys even know how many people you have in your community? Do you guys even have a plan?”
Why is it that every non-aboriginal person automatically thinks a first nations community doesn't know what they're doing? We have the best policies and more experience than any community in Canada in dealing with fires. We would put our fire crews up against any crew in B.C. or in Canada. I'll guarantee you right now, my crews would win hands down.
ISC, after the fact, told us, “We're not paying you guys. The federal government is not fiduciarily responsible for first nations communities in emergency situations.”
Tell me where—