We talk about these events over the past year, even going back to hurricane Fiona and the atmospheric flood in British Columbia. The overwhelming response was not from the Canadian Armed Forces. They supplemented that response in every case. The provinces, territories and even local jurisdictions.... The policing jurisdictions and volunteer fire departments from small towns right across Nova Scotia, for example, all went into service and worked around the clock. There was a Herculean, heroic effort to save homes and communities, and to keep people safe. It is only when an emergency—we've seen this in the past year, in particular—exceeds the capacity of a local jurisdiction that they ask us to help.
I want to be very clear. The determination as to which help is appropriate and how much help can be provided is made by CAF itself. We don't ask of them what they cannot do. We ask them what they can do. Yes, we ask often.
I may also take the point.... I hear very clearly from premiers and ministers of the provinces and territories. They really value the CAF contribution. It's one of the first things they ask for. On many occasions, we've had to say, “That's not the appropriate response. We'll provide you with other help.”