Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm going to read the relevant section here.
I appreciate Ms. Wong's last comment with respect to other municipal entities. Perhaps it could be captured, with the help of those who are appearing as witnesses, by having “municipal entities” or some other word that catches all of them. I think it's pretty clear what is meant by “municipalities”.
But this is what I find to be a concern. This is what clause 3 says:
The Minister is responsible for exercising leadership relating to emergency management in Canada by coordinating, among government institutions and in cooperation with the provinces and other entities, emergency management activities.
I'm adding the word “municipalities”.
As first responders, I can tell you that some of us were at this table as counsellors at a municipal level of government. There is a far greater expectation on municipalities than on anything else. Municipalities are first responders. We ask them to resource and to be there immediately at the scene of an emergency. There is a uniqueness to the circumstances.
The only thing this amendment does is say the Government of Canada will coordinate and work in cooperation. That's it. For somebody to infer something from that, to me, is a pretty big stretch.
When FCM came before us, they said to simply include them as municipalities to ensure they're at the table. I would have liked to have gone further to make sure we had enshrined a role for them in the consultation process, not the decision-making process. I dropped that in deference to concerns about jurisdiction. This is simply talking about including them in the discussions and treating them as something other than children.
If we're going to exclude the first responders, the people who in my opinion bear some of the largest responsibility—and I know Mr. Mungall is saying they are not going to be excluded, but if you are excluding them from being named in the document entirely, and if I cannot find the word “municipality” anywhere in this, it is a slap in the face to municipalities, period.
I've tried to offer a compromise and hold back, but I can tell you the exclusion of that speaks volumes. It's paternal, and in my opinion it's really missing the boat in terms of how we will have to work with and treat municipalities.