Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people of the Selkirk-Red River riding and to commend the valiant efforts of the volunteers of the community of St. Andrews, St. Clements and Selkirk.
These people worked through the weekend to hold back the worst flood in Manitoba history caused by the overflowing waters of the Assiniboine River and the Red River.
The surging water forced some 250 residents to flee their homes. The damage could have been far worse had the ice jam not broken, allowing the water to flow toward Lake Winnipeg. Unfortunately the Selkirk Marine Museum suffered extensive damage during the flood. In addition to damage to the boats, documents such as
original captains logs and 13,000 photos were destroyed in the museum building.
This is a sad loss for the people of Selkirk-Red River riding and for Canadian tourists across this great land of ours.