Yes, thank you. I will take the floor first and then pass it on to my colleague, Don Shropshire.
Let me tell you, Mr. Chair, this is a very appropriate question and reflection. Indeed, some infrastructures in Canada are fragile and are vulnerable, and people using those infrastructures as well. We talk about schools, but what about the health care facilities, the long-term-care facilities, etc.? All of these have to bring us to a reflection.
Again, part of the solution is preparedness. We've said it, and I think it is in the minds of Canadians. At the Canadian Red Cross, we think this is very important. To prepare families, it means information to be self-sustainable for at least three days, especially in those areas that are particularly vulnerable. It means exercises in schools, in families, in communities. To us, this is critical.
We were part of the government during the Y2K apprehension, if you will, in circulating information to the Canadian population. And although it was a non-event, we found that very successful and we found that it reassured people. Not only was it focused on Y2K, but it also gave Canadians the possibility or the mindset to prepare for other similar events.
We do have a lot of experience internationally with earthquakes, be it in India, in Turkey, or in Pakistan, where I was a few months ago, with thousands and thousands of casualties. In Pakistan there were 96,000 deaths and 1.5 million people affected. We know how to run those camps. We know how to liaise with municipalities. Mr. Knight and I have very good colleagues. In all the events that he mentioned, the Red Cross was there helping the municipalities to cope with the disasters.
On 9/11, for instance, 37,000 people were hosted by the Canadian Red Cross, our volunteers, in a matter of a few hours--37,400 people. We came with 4,500 volunteers in a matter of five hours to provide shelter and food to all those people. So we're liaising and we're coordinating with municipalities when the event is happening, but being prepared is the key component of it.