Good morning. Thank you.
My name is Georgina Jolibois. I'm the member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River riding. I have various experiences in working with first responders from the RCMP, nurses, doctors, the local fire department, and the wildfire department.
Before I begin, I want to thank them for the work that they do. They are a remarkable group of people across the province of Saskatchewan who provide supportive services to their members, to the staff, including their families, and they keep our communities safe.
That fire that you were speaking about in Fort McMurray is close to the province of Saskatchewan's border, and it is worrisome for the province of Saskatchewan. It affects communities like La Loche, the Clearwater River Dene Nation, Carson Lake, and Black Point. I'm hoping that this discussion will help the province to come up with a really good plan to fight fires and put action on the fire.
January 22 was a bad day in La Loche. I got to observe up close the effects of PTSD on RCMP officers, the local fire department, nurses, doctors, other health care staff, and provincial service providers. What I noticed is that the RCMP have significant resources available to their members to help them deal with PTSD. At the provincial level, the health care staff and the ambulatory care staff have some resources available to them, but the local fire department and the reserve local fire department do not have as many resources to assist them with debriefing and counselling as other areas have.
The strategy is wonderful. Information is significant, but how can we, from the national level, ensure that the provinces, the municipalities, and the reserves get the same kind of support for their first responders?