Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you very much for the opportunity to appear before you this morning.
While I understand your focus is that of forest pests, I will point out that I'm not an expert in the relationship between forest pests and quantifying the subsequent fuel loading for wildland fires. However, I can say with confidence that one only need look at the province of British Columbia in both 2017 and 2018 and the increased fire intensity in those areas affected by the mountain pine beetle. I would also further point out that in Ontario, in 2018, some of the areas that burned had been damaged by the spruce budworm.
I want to focus my time this morning on the increasing wildland fire problem in Canada, which is relatable to the increased fuels that are presented by the forest pests, and the challenges associated with our ability to respond.
Canada is experiencing increased incidence and intensity in the occurrence of wildland fire. As the impacts of climate change grow, fire size and severity are likely to increase and the fire seasons will become longer. At the same time, more human activity is taking place in the forests, creating greater consequences for the social and economic health and safety of Canadians.
Recently, we've experienced record-breaking temperatures on four continents. Wildfire seasons in Canada are longer, wildfires are increasing in size and intensity, and wildfire-related impacts are changing at an alarming rate.
Provincial states of emergency related to wildfires were declared in Saskatchewan in 2015, in Alberta in 2016, and in British Columbia in both 2017 and 2018. Since 2011, approximately 175,000 people were evacuated from Canadian communities due to wildland fire. Public health, communities, infrastructure, environment and the economy are also affected. Since 2015, suppression resources have been fully committed nationally, and international assistance was required. This trend will continue.
While the statistics have not been totally compiled for the 2018 wildland fire season, intuitively I can tell you, from our organization, that we know new records will be set in terms of multiple provinces and territories being challenged at the same time, namely in 2018: Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.
Pan-Canadian and international resource sharing of personnel and equipment is an annual requirement. Since 2015, Canada has imported around 2,000 highly trained and experienced human resources from international partners to address the demands of our increased wildland fire activities.
Wildland fire is a wildfire management, public safety, public health, climate change and community issue, with indigenous, rural and remote communities being particularly vulnerable to the changing climate.
In 2005, the Canadian wildland fire strategy was signed and approved by all levels of government in Canada. Unfortunately, the financial commitment envisioned in the strategy was not realized, and while some incremental progress was made, the progress fell far short of what was required. Fortunately, in 2016, the strategy was refreshed and renewed and is now the focus of the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, who agreed recently in Halifax to accelerate its implementation, but the urgency of this implementation cannot be overstressed as the impacts of climate change become more apparent in Canada and the goalposts continue to move.
Transformative change is required. There is an urgent need by all Canadians to fully implement the Canadian wildland fire strategy and to do so with great haste. This will definitely involve the federal government.
I thank you very much for this opportunity to address your committee.