Debates of Feb. 4th, 1998

Ice Storm 1998

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Charleswood—Assiniboine.

I am very pleased to join my colleagues this evening in this special debate arising from the ice storm and how Canadian it really is to have a special debate based on the weather.

Noted journalist Robert MacNeil of the famous MacNeil-Lehrer Report wrote in a short article on his native country: “Unconsciously Canadians feel that any people can live in a land where the climate is gentle. It takes a special people to prosper where nature makes it so hard”.

This January Canadians were reminded of the challenges that we face as a nation in mastering living in this harsh environment. In this time of need for a country and for its people, Canadians have responded with courage, generosity and determination.

At the peak of the blackout, more than 2 million users in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada were without power. Property damages resulting from the storm have been estimated to be in the range of $500 to $700 million and the economic costs of lost production run as high in estimates as $5 billion.

Economic impacts are only part of the story. It is harder to measure the discomfort, stress and pain of the tens of thousands of people who were forced to abandon their homes and businesses for days and weeks.

I want to talk briefly about the people in my riding and how they were challenged by the storm.

The community of Ottawa South was hit by the storm in much the same way as were others in cities across eastern Ontario, Quebec and parts of Atlantic Canada. Many experienced the loss of power. Many spent nights sleeping in front of fireplaces to keep warm or sought refuge in shelters. Many lost branches and trees to the thick, heavy ice.

In my riding the area of Alta Vista was particularly hit hard, with many trees in the neighbourhood falling victim to the storm.

Of course, we consider ourselves to be lucky, especially in comparison to those in rural communities who have suffered extensive damage to their homes and properties. Our hearts and thoughts continue to be with them as they start the process of attempting to salvage their livelihoods. I encourage everyone to continue to do their part to support our rural neighbours.

I had my own firsthand experience seeing the level of damage in the rural areas across eastern Ontario in a Department of National Defence helicopter with my colleague, the Minister of National Defence. I visited several rural and urban communities to survey the devastation in my region.

During the fly-over in eastern Ontario I was struck, in particular, by the sight of broken telephone poles, trees bent to the ground, branches strewn across the snow.

We went to several towns and cities, including Metcalfe, Brockville, Kingston and Perth. In every community, we were welcomed by the local MP, the mayor and the city councillors, and everywhere we went, representatives of the Department of National Defence briefed us on the situation in the area.

In Metcalfe, I met an employee of the National Research Council, which comes under my department. He was working as a volunteer, cutting firewood alongside members of the Canadian forces. In Kingston, where the storm really wreaked havoc, the city hall had been turned into a shelter and the council room into a communications centre.

During our helicopter tour, we saw one of the most upsetting scenes at dusk, where only a few lights glimmered here and there in the dark, while whole communities were getting ready to spend another night without any heat.

Anyone who passed over or through eastern Ontario or Quebec could see the enormity of the problem we were facing, but I was heartened during my trip by the evidence of the different levels of government working together to solve problems. I want to thank, in particular, Bob Chiarelli, the regional chair of the municipality of Ottawa-Carleton, for his quick action and decisiveness in acting on this issue.

At the regional headquarters of the Red Cross I observed the volunteers and staff undertaking a number of different tasks. There was a Radio Net centred there which allowed the Red Cross to keep in touch with people working in the field throughout eastern Ontario. The headquarters was also acting as an inquiry centre, taking requests for firewood, for food and for generators.

During the first four days of the ice storm they distributed over 1,500 blankets and fed 3,600 people each of those four days.

The Red Cross also acted as a match-making service of sorts, linking people who needed things to people who were able to donate them. They made over 500 of these matches. They found people willing to provide shelter for others, cook meals for people, and even those who were willing to provide milking cows and hay for horses, or take strangers into their homes.

People in this community have also helped financially. The Red Cross has raised locally in Ottawa around $500,000 from third party contributions. Money was raised separately from a 1-800 line. Money was raised by people taking contributions at Senators games, at local malls and at community centres.

I want to thank and acknowledge the volunteers and the staff for their hard work during this period of crisis.

During my visit to the Red Cross headquarters I was struck by the number of people who were volunteering their time to help their fellow citizens.

The Red Cross registered 1,200 people to volunteer to help in just the first two days of the storm. I am happy to say that my own teenagers and their friends joined in this effort.

I would also like to mention the individuals, businesses and other organizations in our community and across Canada who contributed to the relief effort. From individual acts of kindness to neighbours, to cash or in kind donations they have all been instrumental to the effort that has gone into helping Canadians through this crisis.

I also want to mention the few, and it is a very small number, who used the crisis to take advantage of others. Through Industry Canada's competition bureau consumers who believe they have been victims of price gouging have been calling and reporting their experiences. We will provide consumer organizations with the intelligence gleaned from this phone line so that consumers can be better informed of who to look to for support and who to avoid giving their patronage to.

I am proud to say that my industry portfolio worked on many fronts to help Canadians meet this challenge. Throughout the state of emergency Industry Canada, along with other federal departments, provincial authorities and the telecommunications industry, contributed to the support of telecommunications operations and to maintaining the telecommunications infrastructure. This effort included co-ordinating the deployment of generating sets, including four giant generators transported from Vancouver to Montreal, enhancing the reliability of vital cellular sites and supplying fuel for telecommunication systems.

In addition to authorizing the use of microwave links by Hydro-Quebec, Industry Canada authorized more than 50 radio channels for use by DND, the Sûreté du Quebec and the Montreal urban community police.

Industry Canada worked with utilities and Revenue Canada to expedite the passage through Canadian customs of essential equipment imported from the United States, for example telephone poles coming in from Alabama. Industry sector branches monitored the storm's impacts on their industry clients on a daily basis and provided support by tracking sources of essential equipment.

In Saint-Hubert, the head office of the Canadian Space Agency became an emergency shelter where people could spend the night, get a warm meal and take a shower. All in all, the agency welcomed about 4,500 people, 350 of whom slept there and more than 4,000 people showed up to warm up, take a shower or get a warm meal.

The Canada-Ontario Business Service Centre and its Quebec counterpart called Info-entrepreneurs used their 1-800 numbers to provide businesses with information about the help available to them.

Today, my colleague, the Secretary of State for the Federal Office of Regional Development-Quebec, or FORD-Q, announced a series of measures to help things get back to normal in the areas devastated by the ice storm. Businesses who deal with FORD-Q will be able to postpone the reimbursement of the contributions they received as part of the department's programs.

The Business Development Bank of Canada announced flexible repayment arrangements for small business clients in eastern Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces who experienced severe ice storm damage.

Four weeks later we continue to see the images on the news of significant challenges, in particular in Quebec on the south shore where there remains much to be done and there are still many people without electricity.

The examples that I have given today and those that I have heard from members who preceded me in this debate demonstrate a very positive story, a story of Canadians from coast to coast rallying to help their neighbours in a time of dire need. It is a story of individuals, businesses, communities and governments pitching in to help Canadians through a very difficult time.

Modern technology has brought many benefits to humanity. It has made life in this harsh northern climate comfortable if not easy. But the events of the past month have afforded us a salutary reminder of the power of nature and our vulnerability in relying on technology for our most basic needs.

I am happy to add that the difficulties we have endured together have also reminded us that we are members of a large and generous family. Like any family, we have our share of differences, squabbles and jealousies, but when times are difficult it is good to be part of a big family whose members are willing to come to one another's aid.

[John Harvard, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join this debate on the federal role in helping people who were hit hard by the recent ice storm. I am proud that the federal government was quick off the mark in getting the ball rolling and working with the provinces and Canadians in the affected areas.

Once again the people of Canada have rallied around and helped their neighbours. We have seen this spirit three times in recent years; first with the flooding in the Saguenay region of Quebec, then last spring with the Red River flood in my home province, and now this ice storm.

Manitobans were extremely grateful with the help they received last year and I am proud of the way they have responded to this crisis. For example, Manitoba Telecom Services sent people and equipment to help restore telephone lines. Manitoba Red Cross helped gather supplies and money for storm victims. The Mennonite Central Committee and the Winnipeg Free Press started collections for money, blankets and clothing. Banks and credit unions were also at the frontlines of assistance.

I could go on, but to be brief, I would like to thank Manitobans, indeed all western Canadians for their support to the communities hurting as a result of the ice storm.

The federal government also reacted quickly. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada was one of the departments whose proactive efforts played a key role. The department started by taking steps to help prevent further damage and to help those in crisis. It followed up by working with provinces, industry organizations, banks and others involved in the crisis.

The most immediate concern in the early hours and days of the storm was getting power to farms, dairy, hog and poultry. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada staff worked closely with the generator committee established by Emergency Preparedness Canada to track down and assure the distribution of generators in both Ontario and Quebec.

As well, the department provided and moved generators from its research centres in St-Hyacinthe, Ottawa and southern Ontario.

The second biggest concern was getting the dairy processing capacity back on line. The department worked with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Canadian Dairy Commission and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to get temporary authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to export unpasteurized milk to the U.S. for processing and return it to Canada.

In all, 1.35 million hectolitres of milk were moved to Michigan and some milk was also moved out of Quebec to New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Unfortunately about 13.5 million hectolitres of milk had to be dumped because the trucks could not get to the farms to pick it up, or if they could, there was no power to run the pumps.

Thankfully these efforts and many others are now largely complete with the return to more normal operations throughout the regions affected by the storm. However, we cannot forget that there are still thousands of people without power.

These storms affected a massive area with a huge concentration of food production. At the height of the crisis, one-third of Canada's milk supply was affected. In Quebec alone, 50% of milk, 40% of hogs and 60% of the maple industry were affected. Based on the 1996 census of agriculture, there were 10,471 farms in the area of eastern Ontario affected by the ice storm.

To date, much of the concern is focused on damage experienced by dairy and maple producers. Approximately 25% of all farms in this area raise dairy cows and 5% have taps on maple trees. Other major commodities produced in the region include beef and poultry with 44% of farms reporting beef cattle and 11% reporting hens and chickens.

One of the more pressing concerns is getting the maple sugar industry up and running again. We have only four to six weeks before the sap begins to run in March in eastern Ontario and Quebec. Some of the affected trees will produce sap this year and then die. Some have been destroyed already and some will only recover over time.

In the interim the Minister of Human Resources Development recently announced measures to help the maple sugar industry. Producers have already begun to sign up and are being encouraged to apply to their local HRDC offices.

Federal emergency assistance to hire labour for clean up is available now under existing programs, including up to $40 million under the Employment Insurance Act for targeted wage subsidies and job creation partnerships and up to $5 million under youth initiatives.

I referred earlier to the disaster financial assistance arrangements. It is important to understand that under DFAA it is the provincial and territorial governments that must first develop and implement disaster relief measures. They must indicate what they consider to be eligible and make the compensation payments to individuals and communities.

The minister issued a news release on January 21 that outlined some of the damages that could be claimed under the DFAA guidelines if provinces choose to cover them. The following would be eligible for cost sharing with the provinces if the provinces cover these costs: asset losses such as livestock; costs incurred by farmers who had to dump their milk during the crisis; reimbursement of the value of milk; costs of renting generators and other storm related costs such as diesel fuel, repairing assets damaged by the ice storm like barns or lost inventories because of power outages, animals that died as a result of the storm; and costs associated with moving agricultural products out of affected areas for urgent processing.

All those affected in rural communities are eligible for compensation under provincial programs. Again it is up to the provinces to decide what is covered and to do the actual compensation. We will share the cost. Federal departments quickly initiated the ongoing discussions with the provinces.

From the beginning Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has been in constant contact with key farm organizations and remains in contact with the Quebec and Ontario ministries. The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food has been in touch with his provincial counterparts, ministers Julien and Villeneuve. I assure the House that relationships with and among the provinces are very positive. Regular contact is being maintained at the officials level with Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

It is this government's objective to ensure interprovincial equity by gathering information on what each province is planning to cover. The provinces decide on the level and type of assistance to communities and individuals. Officials from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada have met and remain in contact with the provincial ministries of agriculture in the affected provinces. They are providing assistance to the provinces regarding DFAA and possible subsidiary agreements. The federal government continues to work with the provinces to identify gaps in the assistance provided by DFAA to small businesses impacted by the ice storm.

Quebec has experience with DFAA and the negotiation of subsidiary agreements as a result of the Saguenay flood in 1996. Ontario is inviting Quebec to meet and to share this knowledge and experience regarding the DFAA and subsidiary agreements. The federal government encourages the provinces to work together.

The full nature of the damage by the storm has still to be tallied. It will take some time to do so but the federal government will continue to work closely with the provinces and farm organizations much as Canadians from across this country did to help those affected by the storm.

[John Williams, Reform, St. Albert, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time, as will all other members of the official opposition from here on in.

I am pleased to continue the debate regarding the ice storm that severely damaged eastern Canada including eastern Ontario, Quebec and so on. It has been a tragedy of monumental proportions. It is only appropriate that we in the House of Commons take time to recognize the difficulties and the duress that many people in this part of the country have been operating under. At the same time we recognize how the country and the nation as a whole rose to the occasion to deal with the issue, and to deal with it in a wonderful Canadian way so that we could all stand up afterward and be proud of the way we tackled this natural disaster that befell this part of the country.

As someone who represents a riding in Alberta, St. Albert, it was hard to appreciate the difficulties that were building here as the rain and ice continued to build up and the damage continued to get worse and worse day by day.

I happened to be visiting Colonel Selby at the Edmonton garrison on the day they received the order to move the troops. At that time I started to appreciate the magnitude of the disaster which had developed over a number of days in this part of the country. It made me proud that the soldiers who reside in and around Edmonton, many of whom reside in the city of St. Albert, were moving out at a moment's notice to go to Quebec, Ontario and other eastern provinces to lend their assistance, talent, expertise and hard work to ensure that Canadians would suffer as little as possible during this tragedy.

I would like to pay tribute to all the military personnel who participated, especially those from St. Albert. They loaded all kinds of equipment on trains and aircraft and willingly came here at a moment's notice.

I remember watching on television how some members of the military were helping hydro workers put back the power lines. They said they did not have the expertise to go up the poles to connect the wires but they could do whatever was required on the ground to ensure that every available technician and qualified personnel could get up the poles to restore the power.

It was wonderful to see Canadians from all across the country, the military from western Canada, the lines men, Quebec Hydro and Ontario Hydro, working together to do their best. They worked around the clock in many cases. They worked until they were exhausted to ensure their customers were well served and to ensure that they were doing their best to bring heat, light and power back to Canadians across a very large area.

We saw how difficult it was for the old people, and the young too but especially the old, to leave their homes, but they had no choice. It was cold and they were freezing. It must have been very difficult for them to go into the shelters. My heart goes out to them in their time of difficulty and for the trauma they went through. We see it on television, people around the world having to go into shelters because of natural disasters and civil disorder, but we do not see it often in Canada. My heart goes out to them, especially the old folk. They were trying to do the best they could in these shelters, while at the same time recognizing that many, many people gave of themselves. They set their normal work aside, they set their normal lives aside to pitch in.

My staff in Ottawa phoned me to say the office on Parliament Hill was closing down because of the ice storm. I said, “Good, get out there and do some good. Help your neighbours. Do what you can”. When I give speeches back in the riding I tell people it does not matter what you do for your community as long as you do something. I can assure you that there was no end of things that people could do during the ice storm here in Ontario and in Quebec to alleviate the problems they and their neighbours had.

I would also like to recognize the farmers. They had a very difficult time. They had milk cows that needed to be milked. As someone who grew up on a farm many years ago, I remember how it is to milk a cow by hand but that is not the way it is done today. We need electricity to keep the machines running. The poor cows suffered and the milk industry suffered and the farmers suffered. They suffered not only the physical hardships but they suffered the economic hardships too.

I am glad to hear the Minister of Industry talk about the programs that are being made available to them, to other people and to other industries that will allow them to get their lives back in order.

The worst weather can bring out the best in people. I think I mentioned earlier that we heard stories of how communities helped communities and how neighbours helped neighbours. It was just wonderful to see Canadians pulling together as a nation and as a community. Would it not be wonderful if we could have that attitude prevail over all times so that we do not fight among ourselves, we do not squabble among ourselves? We should work as a community and as a neighbourhood.

Far too often we act as little islands unto ourselves. We go to work and we go home. We ignore our neighbours. We do not even know our neighbours. But when disaster strikes it brings out the best in people and they pull together.

Those people across the country who were not affected gave of themselves. They gave materials and money. They made donations to try to make the problems less difficult for those in the storm areas. I would also like to pay tribute to those people who gave generators, money and clothing. That was important. We all pulled together.

I was talking to the hon. member for St. Catharines today. He told me that when the ice storm hit this part of the country and farther east generators were sent from St. Catharines. Then it was hit by the ice storm and had to import generators from the United States. Many people pulled together to help each other.

It will take a long time for some people to recover. We have heard that the maple industry has been very hard hit because the trees have been destroyed.

I arrived here for the reopening of Parliament a few days ago and I could not believe the devastation in and around Ottawa as I was coming in from the airport. Trees were broken. Some of the younger trees were bent over. The tops of them were on the ground. Perhaps they will never recover. Broken trees were everywhere. I was quite startled at seeing the extent of the damage.

I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been for the people to live through the tragedy of the ice storm of 1998.

As we put our lives back together, as the communities heal themselves and as the trees grow back, the ice storm of 1998 will be something that people will speak about for generations to come. The young people of today will be able to tell their grandchildren how they participated. As time goes by the difficult memories will erode and the memories of how people came together will come to the fore. They will look back at the ice storm of 1998 and say “I was there. I worked hard. We as Canadians pulled together and did a wonderful job for the country.”

My heart goes out to those who suffered. I also pay tribute to all Canadians who participated in helping this country survive the ice storm. It was a wonderful day for those who participated. I believe that Canadians will move forward from here, having learned a bit about themselves, and that will be for the better.

[Rick Casson, Reform, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is with a great deal of pleasure that I join the debate tonight.

The winter of 1997-98 is not one we will easily forget. Mother nature has reminded us of her tremendous power and of the importance of men and women reaching out to each other on an individual, community and national basis as we struggle to rectify what nature has done to us.

The winter of 1997-98 has shown in its wrath extreme conditions, from the out of control prairie fires in Alberta to the severe ice storms in Ontario, Quebec and the maritimes. It is somewhat of a story of fire and ice.

To what do we owe these natural disasters? Some say it is El Nino. Some say it is man made, something we are doing to our ecology, that the equilibrium is out of whack. Whatever it is, one thing we must all agree on is that we showed once again what Canadians can do together in the face of diversity.

We witnessed courageous acts in the last couple of years during the floods in Manitoba and Quebec. People were helping people with time, food, shelter, medical help, supplies, money, the list goes on and on.

When the ice storms of 1998 hit, the courage and determination of our fellow Canadians shone brightly against the vast blackness in powerless towns and cities. The ice storms of 1998 reminded all Canadians of how dependent we have become on the comforts of modern day living but, more important, of how much we have come to depend on each other.

I would like to talk a bit about what happened in southern Alberta in my neighbouring constituency of Macleod. A fire came raging out of the foothills, swept out across the prairies and devastated over 100 square kilometres of ranch land. It took out homes and buildings, it destroyed livestock and wildlife, it destroyed the feed supplies of all the ranchers in the area for the entire winter and for the years to come. It destroyed miles and miles of fence. It did this with a fury that few people have ever remembered. It burned to a black ash an area that was once green and vital. There were no feed supplies. There were no homes for some. Buildings were gone. There was livestock lost. Wildlife was gone. There was a bleak and disturbing sight left.

The next day as I toured the area the dust had already started to blow off this fragile environment. The wind continued to blow, the dust blew and it looked very much like the 1930s. One day the air was black, the next day it was brown. This reminds us how fragile this world is.

After the shock had worn off and the people had started to pull together, it was amazing to look back and see what had happened, all the municipalities that had pulled together, the neighbours who had come in to fight the fires. Strangers came from miles to help. That continued from the day of the fire on and on. I am sure many of these stories have been repeated in this area during the ice storms of this winter.

There are pictures of a gymnasium in Grantham full of clothes and food and supplies donated from all over the country. People like Joey Hurlburt from Fort Macleod organized relief measures. The community of Claresholm raised over $100,000 in one day by sponsoring a dance and an auction in a community event. I know many of these stories will be repeated again and again in this part of the country when the ice storm of 1998 is remembered.

Just this week we toured an area of some sugar bush out at McDonalds Corners. It was shocking to see the devastation of the maple trees and the rest of the forest and the economic impact this is going to have on the woodlot operators, the farmers in the area and certainly the maple syrup industry.

I would like to thank the room full of Wheelers for hosting us, the room full of tired people who have been working steady during the storm and since to try to replace their lives and their way of life.

In Canada we are kind of spoiled by the bountiful fruits of our land. In the maple syrup industry every year there is a harvest which seems to just flow and is always there. But unlike other crops, it is going to take many years to rejuvenate, as it probably will for the scarred landscape in southern Alberta. Given some time and some loving care, this can be replaced.

I have been encouraged by the support I saw when we were out at McDonalds Corners and I have been encouraged by the support that has been shown in southern Alberta, private industry, governments of all levels, municipal, provincial, federal, coming together to help.

The minister of agriculture told a rather stirring story earlier when he saw 100 trucks lined up after the ice storm to help repair the damage here, and they were all from across the line in America. This truly was an international effort to help out what has happened here. To those people who continue to suffer our thoughts and our prayers certainly go out to them.

The immediate life threatening crisis is over and one of my colleagues compared it to a funeral in a family where everybody comes around to be with you at the time of crisis. A few days later you are left alone to deal with your own thoughts and your own problems.

This is one thing that we have to guard against, that we do not forget that this has happened. We have to continue to help these people with the right amount of supply and effort going to them to help restore their lives and to help them cope with this terrible situation.

At this time I would like to extend heartfelt praise to our military, to the troops who worked so hard and so unselfishly to help out the people. The hydro workers worked day and night, seven days a week until they just dropped in their tracks, along with the people who came from across the border. It was an incredible sight to witness. It certainly shows what people can do when they get together and put forth effort.

Once the extent of the damage was realized, action was taken and the donations started pouring in. There were emergency shelters, food, donations of time and effort. There were people delivering generators.

In our area of southern Alberta I know people would be leaving the next day after the fire to go out to try to take care of their livestock and to assess the damage. They would come home and there would be a truckload of feed there for the livestock. They never knew where it came from. It was not asked. No one wanted to be recognized.

These are the kinds of stories that Canadians are famous for. Canadians can support one another in times of need and never ask for anything in return.

It is with deep empathy that I say to Ontarians, Quebeckers, maritimers and those in southern Alberta that throughout their ordeals we in western Canada watched the dread of the storm and of the fire as they ran their course. As always, our prayers and our thoughts were with them.

Our prayers are with the families as they try to cope with lost loved ones. We can heal the wounds of broken power poles and destroyed homes and grow new trees but we cannot replace the people we love who were lost. Our hearts go out to them.

It is moments like these when the generosity and kindness of Canadians helping Canadians from coast to coast to coast knows no bounds that leave me feeling very proud to live in this great nation and very proud to be a Canadian.

[Mac Harb, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is amazing that we have a debate about the ice storm tonight when in fact my view is that this debate should be about electricity.

If we did not lose electricity in eastern Canada perhaps we would not be having this debate at all. The loss of electricity has caused most of the problems we are faced with.

It is incredible that electricity can be the cause of so much happiness in our society. It helps us to refrigerate food in the summertime. In the winter we cook with it. We use it in order to shave, drive cars, trains and so on, but it can be the cause of much misery once electricity is not around. It is an extremely addictive source of energy, happiness but at the same time a source of sadness.

I grew up in a home where we did not have electricity. We did not have fridges. We did not have stoves. We did not have televisions and we did not have electric shavers or cars. We managed.

That was about 35 or 40 years ago. When this ice storm hit, the first thing that came to mind was what happened 35 years ago. It hit me. I said, my God, no way in this day and age would I be able to live like I was living 35 years ago.

I woke up and felt that something really needed to be done. I do not want to congratulate the government. I do not want to congratulate any department of federal, provincial or municipal government because frankly we are each doing our job. We are doing what is expected of us as elected officials, as levels of government, departments, ministries and municipalities.

I congratulate ordinary people who came together to do extraordinary things. On the very same day that the ice storm hit and the electricity disappeared, a radio announcer indicated that my office was receiving blankets to assist one of the outlying areas. Within minutes of the announcement a car pulled up in front of my office and a lady walked in with a blanket she had in her trunk. She wanted to do something.

This story repeated itself over and over. In a matter of three and a half days or so we had in excess of 23 trucks, vans and car loads of contributions from people throughout the community who wanted to help those in need. They filled my small office on Booth Street. In excess of 250 volunteers phoned my office from eight o'clock in the morning until eight o'clock at night to give their names. They wanted to assist.

Those are the people I want to thank. They made a difference in our community, in our regions and in our country. This is what I call a true Canadian. The devastation ranged in the hundreds of millions of dollars. I said to myself that it would take months and months before all the poles would be repaired and electricity restored.

I have seen devastation in other countries. I know the time and effort it takes to reconstruct damage done by man or by nature. I was extremely proud of the speed and the way in which individuals in different departments and at different levels of government came together to respond to the needs of the people and to reconnect the electricity in our region and in other regions across the country. This made me proud of the country and the people who live here.

Rather than talking about the ice storms and what nature has done we should be celebrating the fact that in times of crisis Canadians have passed the test and communities have come together to make it happen.

I want to thank some individuals such as the member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell. He did an exemplary job in pulling his people together. He tried to do everything he could, day in and day out, to make it easier for the people of his riding.

In my constituency of Ottawa Centre there were problems. Our electricity was restored in a few days. My heart went out to the people living in the outskirts. Some of them are still suffering the consequences of the ice storm and lack of electricity.

In closing, I thank my staff, Liz Johnston, Tim Sen, Paula Franco, Alison Deakin and Shari Duffin. They are ordinary people who have done extraordinary things during a time of crisis in my constituency. They manned the office seven days a week to assist people in my constituency, in the city and in the outskirts of our region. I thank them publicly.

I also thank every person who made a difference, in particular Mr. Bob Chiarelli and his staff, the people at the region, the municipalities, the Ottawa police, other police forces, hydro workers and our neighbours to the south, the Americans. At the time when they had a crisis in New York State it was moving to see them coming here to give a hand to people in eastern Canada, Quebec and eastern Ontario. I thank them publicly for their assistance as a neighbour in time of crisis.

I am proud to be a Canadian and I am proud to live in and to represent such a wonderful community.

[Guy St-Julien, Liberal, Abitibi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, true, we in northern Quebec, in Abitibi, were not affected by the ice storm, but I must tell you that when I got back to my Val-d'Or residence last Saturday, January 10, around 11 p.m., after an evening that my wife and I spent with the people of Barraute and Senneterre, I noted several phone calls on the device next to my telephone.

In fact, I took note of all the calls I received Saturday night, and on Sunday morning, January 11, around 8:30 a.m., I was back at my rigding office in Val-d'Or. I took the time to immediately call back some numbers and after dialling the first one, that is, 824-3326, I recognized the voice of somebody I know very well, that is, Réginald Béland, from Val-Senneville, who is a fabulous volunteer of the Val-d'Or area and who told me of his concern to help the ice storm victims.

Together with him and on his advice, I immediately took action, Sunday morning, around 9 a.m., I called Jean-Marc Lavoie, of Domtar Corporation, at his Val-d'Or residence. Further to our discussions and at my request, Mr. Lavoie called me back to confirm that Domtar in Val-d'Or was giving the people of the south 8 to 10 vans filled with 2 by 4s, that is, dry wood for the people of the south—some kind of firewood. These vans were 46 feet long.

So, on Sunday morning, thanks to quick decision making by Domtar executives in Val-d'Or, we were ready to help the people affected by the storm.

It is true that we live in the North and that we were spared, but we made it a priority to ensure the security and protection of the people in southern Quebec. As we know, in an emergency situation, municipal governments are on the front lines and we immediately noticed the work done by the Vallée-de-l'Or and Abitibi RCMs.

Many Abitibians were part of the solidarity movement. They may live far from Montreal and the St. Lawrence River, but they nonetheless felt affected by the disaster that hit further south. In no time, people from the Abitibi came out in droves to help their fellow citizens.

Several municipalities and organizations released their employees and sent volunteers to help collect and ship non-perishable food, firewood, generators and other essential items. Besides municipalities and community organizations, several companies from Abitibi also did their part by providing services, sharing their expertise, transporting goods, making donations, etc.

The Val-d'Or ham radio club launched its Operation Chaleur to collect funds in collaboration with area firefighters. Hydro-Québec sent 57 people, or almost all its linemen from Abitibi and James Bay, to areas without power.

Techno Lignes Abitibi of Sullivan sent eight work crews in the Laurentian region to assist Hydro-Québec. Eighteen workers from Barraute, Amos and Val-d'Or worked on the construction and maintenance of power and telephone lines.

The people of the federal riding of Abitibi answered massively to the ice storm operation launched throughout Quebec by the government of Quebec and Premier Lucien Bouchard. There is one fact that must not be kept unknown in Quebec: it is the agreement passed with the management of various companies.

I wish to mention in particular the general manager of Kepa Transport, Mr. Gilles Lapointe. It must be mentioned that, in cooperation with the Chisasibi Crees, this company owned by the James Bay Crees sent a 46-foot trailer loaded with 45 cords of firewood to the Saint-Hyacinthe area, over 4,000 kilometres there and back—2,000 kilometres each way—, free of charge, just to help the people.

I would like to thank the James Bay Crees as well as the Chisasibi, Mistissini, Waswanipi and Oujé-Bougoumou Crees for the help they gave the people in the south.

As for the sponsoring by the Vallée-de-l'Or regional municipality, the firewood blitz started immediately on January 12. Loading points were set up in Val-d'Or, Senneterre, Malartic, Rivière-Héva, Dubuisson, Vassan and Val-Senneville, thanks to the excellent co-operation of Louis Bourget, director general of the Vallée-de-l'Or RCM, and Yvon Frenette, member of the Val-d'Or city council. We can report tonight on the results of Operation Ice Storm in Abitibi.

The Val-d'Or area of the Vallée-de-l'Or RCM sent more than 80 volunteers, 39 46-foot trailers full of firewood, one ten-wheeler and one other truck. Domtar, which had told me on Sunday morning that it would provide eight to ten trailers, ended up providing 19 46-foot trailers to help people in the southern part of the province. It was all good, dry firewood. From the Senneterre area, 12 trailers; from another area of the region, eight trailers; and from Val-Senneville, one trailer.

According to the reports from the municipalities served by the RCM and from Domtar, that firewood was delivered to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Venise-en-Québec, Hudson, Rougemont, Granby, Vaudreuil, Dorion, Saint-Polycarpe, Carignan, Beloeil, Chambly, Mont-Saint-Grégoire, Farnham, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Athanase and Iberville.

We can also mention that, throughout Operation Ice Storm, we had extraordinary companies who gave volunteers free meals all week long, namely Rôtisserie Saint-Hubert, Val-d'Or Pizzeria, Métro Supermarché Pelletier Inc., Cafétéria chez Vic, Tim Horton, PizzaBella and Brasserie Le Pub.

We also received donations from everywhere. The volunteer work that was done and the help that was provided are also worth mentioning. A trailer cannot go anywhere without a tractor. The following companies provided trailers and a driver, free of charge, to deliver firewood to the areas affected by the storm further south. There was Cabano Kingsway, Papineau Transport, Kepa Transport, Transport Maybois, Transport du Nord-Ouest, Transport Bergeron, and R.S. Métal. Tractors were provided by the following companies: Entreprises René Paré et fils, Excavation Émilien Fournier, Transport René Hardy de La Morandière, Construction Val-d'Or, and Alain Guillemette.

Chapter 2218 of the Knights of Columbus from Amos, a town in the Abitibi regional county municipality, also participated in Operation Ice Storm. They sent some 900 cords of firewood to the southern part of the province. Four generators were provided. Donations totalling $20,850 were made. A whole trailer and 169 boxes of non-perishable food were sent. That is 65,000 pounds or 33 tons of food.

I also wish to thank the media, both print and electronic, for their unconditional support. Without them, the relief effort resulting from all this publicity would not have been possible.

Citizens, along with several organizations and businesses from the Abitibi regional county municipality, were actively involved and many donations were made.

It is an honour for me to thank the people of Abitibi, those from the municipalities, the health sector, the regional county municipalities, the Crees of James Bay, Air Creebec, Transport Canada, who throughout the ice storm and its terrible aftermath, worked relentlessly to help with wood, lodgings, donations, food and equipment.

A big thank you to all the volunteers, transport companies, Hydro-Quebec and Télébec workers, and all those who unselfishly gave their time and efforts. I thank the people of Abitibi whose generosity reminds us of the strength and beauty of the solidarity of Canadians in Quebec.

The people of Abitibi are sending a message to their neighbours to the south. They want to tell them: “Congratulations for your courage, we are thinking of you, all our best”.

[Odina Desrochers, Bloc, Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing the time allotted to me with my colleague, the hon. member for Châteauguay.

Quebec is going through the most serious socio-economic disaster of the century. The media provided steady coverage during the worst part of the crisis to show the solidarity displayed for Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick, the three provinces that were the hardest hit by the storm.

At this time, I would like to thank the major leaders who distinguished themselves during this crisis. First and foremost, Premier Bouchard of Quebec, who has shown outstanding leadership in co-ordinating all emergency and solidarity operations.

I also thank also Hydro-Québec chairman André Caillé, who, with his team, provided Quebeckers with hourly updates on the situation, while looking after those affected by the storm and immediately taking the necessary steps to have the Quebec hydroelectric power system repaired and rebuilt.

I thank the mayors, who, while unprepared, brilliantly rose to the challenge, those in charge of the Quebec emergency preparedness organization and the many public health workers.

I also want to mention the massive involvement of police forces—the Sûreté du Québec, the RCMP, municipal police and Canadian Armed Forces—in providing assistance and, more importantly, a sense of security to the victims.

I would like to mention the immediate response of employees of American hydroelectric companies, who did not hesitate to come and help out Hydro-Québec linemen. They were impressed by the warm welcome they received from storm victims, and especially by their great understanding in the face of the crisis.

As well, I was deeply touched by the gestures of solidarity from Quebec, whether they took the form of collecting wood or food supplies or responding to the numerous requests from the Red Cross and emergency measures organizations.

I pay tribute here to the initiative taken by the people of Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean. The images transmitted on national television showed us the great generosity that characterizes this lovely region of Quebec.

I would now like to give you a few examples of solidarity from the riding of Lotbinière. More than 1,000 cords of wood were collected in one week. And here is an interesting anecdote. On Sunday, January 18, under the direction of mayor Jean-Guy Bergeron and police officer Gérald Laganière, dozens of volunteers turned out to collect 1,200 pounds of meat in 90 minutes at Laurier-Station. Now that is something.

Another example of generosity was the 86-year-old woman who handed over the contents of her pantry to a volunteer. She said: “Tomorrow I will be going shopping again, I have the means and, above all, I have electricity in my house”. These generous actions forged new ties of solidarity. A ceremony will be held next Friday evening to thank all these volunteers from the riding of Lotbinière for their exceptional contribution.

However, although the media have focused during the last few days on the number of subscribers to whom power has been restored, we must not forget the impacts and consequences of this ice storm that have not yet all been tallied up, although we know that they could reach hundreds of millions of dollars.

If we take a more rational look at such a crisis, we can divide it into three phases. The first one is the reaction phase, which is the one we have been witnessing since the crisis began, and which hon. members have been describing since the beginning of this special debate.

We have now reached phase two, which is a more in-depth assessment of the situation. The comments we hear and the news reported by the media are just the tip of the iceberg.

In this sad assessment, we must not forget the businesses which have been paralysed since the beginning of the crisis and which are on the verge of bankruptcy, as well as the thousands of workers who are not working.

The Montérégie and central Quebec regions are currently going through harrowing times. Hundreds of people wonder whether they will still have jobs tomorrow.

Moreover, we must not forget other businesses located outside the triangle of darkness. I am referring to those businesses and their employees who, following Hydro-Quebec's requests, closed their operations for one, two and even three weeks, thus incurring major losses.

The full evaluation of this catastrophe is not yet completed, but we can already start thinking about the third phase, which has to do with the measures necessary to provide greater assistance to storm victims.

Even if negotiations are already under way, storm victims are anxious. They are eager to find out about turnaround times and, more importantly, about the new moneys to be allocated to deal with the crisis.

The ice storm is not a regional or provincial problem, but a national one. It is, therefore, time to make major decisions of solidarity which must involve both the federal government and the governments of the three provinces affected by this national crisis.

Now we come to some solutions and suggestions for the federal government. First of all, we repeat our request to the Minister of Human Resources Development that he clarify, for once and for all, his position with respect to the waiting periods for employment insurance and the payments in advance which his department has promised to make. Even after his statements this week, even here in the House, the ice storm victims still have trouble understanding the minister's logic in the situation they are experiencing.

The maple syrup producer assistance program, which will hire the unemployed for pruning and replacement of the collecting tubes in the maple trees, is not sufficient. The minister would need to make this program more flexible so that more skilled and more efficient labourers could be hired so that better work would be done in storm-ravaged areas.

In the aftermath of this third natural disaster, the federal government now needs to give more serious attention to the greenhouse effect, which constitutes one of the determining factors behind this country's climate changes.

It is time for it to respond to the insistent calls for action from the environmental groups. Experts had warned us of the dangers of these climatic changes. We have borne the brunt of them, we have experienced them.

On behalf of the population, I am therefore demanding that the government be more stringent when this entire matter of greenhouse effects is debated. The federal government must take stronger action.

In closing, I again congratulate all those who took part, at home in Quebec, and throughout the country, in the finest undertaking of solidarity of the 20th century.

[Maurice Godin, Bloc, Châteauguay, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to take part in this special debate on the ice storm for a number of reasons. First, I myself suffered the effects of the storm for seven days; five days in my office, and in the riding between 3 and 28 days. I will therefore speak about the riding of Châteauguay.

I will give my impressions of the storm as it unfolded, the strengths I noted and the areas we will have to improve for the well-being of the population in the future.

There are, in my riding, three agglomerations that also form a triangle. To the west, Châteauguay, Léry, Mercier and Saint-Isidore; to the east, Saint-Constant, Sainte-Catherine and Delson; and to the south, Saint-Mathieu, Saint-Rémi, Saint-Édouard, Saint-Michel and Saint-Jacques-le-Mineur.

Although the Châteauguay-Ste-Catherine points of the triangle were without electricity, the major damage to Hydro-Québec's systems was in the municipalities of the St-Rémi point of the triangle, and it was these municipalities that were without electricity the longest. I therefore pay tribute to the mayors of the riding of Châteauguay, who worked tirelessly for their municipalities.

I sympathize with all these storm victims. I found seven days without electricity long and difficult. I therefore have a great deal of respect for those who lived with this problem for four weeks and longer.

On behalf of the constituents of Châteauguay, I would like to extend my sympathy to the families in Quebec and in other provinces who lost loved ones during this storm through illness or accident. I would also like to thank all the volunteers, often without power themselves, who directed operations and brought assistance to the most disadvantaged in our community in the large shelters.

Thank you to both levels of government for quickly putting disaster funding in place. Thank you to the army, to police forces, to municipal councils, to performers, to people from other areas, and also to the employees of Hydro-Québec. Having worked with that organization for 35 years, I know first hand what motivates these people: pride in serving their fellow citizens. Rebuilding a network covering several kilometres in a few weeks calls for determination, courage, hard work and pride. I remember the smile on the faces of these two linemen, Messrs Laberge and Marien, and their pride at having restored power to my home, at 5.30 a.m. on Tuesday.

I thank the people in charge of communications, Messrs Crête and Hébert, for their availability and for patiently hearing my demands. When power was restored, my staff and I acted as liaison between the victims and Hydro-Québec and we visited every affected site as well.

In 1962, I had seen another ice storm, as an employee, but it was not as bad as this one, because the transmission systems between the distribution centres had not been affected. So, I knew that, however extensive the damage to the network, Hydro would act methodically and diligently to restore power to all users.

Hydro-Québec chairman André Caillé and Premier Bouchard were great at reassuring the public with their leadership and control over the situation. This was a serious situation, but at no time did these men let on that there was any doubt in their minds. We can say that, when Quebec is allowed to make its own decisions, it produces excellent results. This is a most interesting finding, given the major decisions that lay ahead.

The municipalities have done a great job, in spite of the fact that their emergency plans were not always up to date. Emergency planning was deficient in some instances, but one would have had to work miracles to respond to requests for assistance from 300 municipalities all at once with a staff of only 40 or so employees.

In the future, responsibilities in that area should be devolved to the RCMs. The fact of the matter is that those municipalities that had first line equipment and whose emergency plans were up to date made it through pretty well.

It is too early to assess the cost of the losses in the riding of Châteauguay; estimates are currently being made. One thing is sure however: almost no one was spared by this disaster. I am thinking of employees, farmers, businesses, sugar bush operators, greenhouse growers and the municipalities in particular.

Let us hope that the programs the government is proposing will respond to the needs of the people without too much delay, that the 1998 budget surplus will be used to compensate losses and not to create new health and education programs. The people need it.

Unfortunately, the federal-provincial accord on disaster assistance was not the only official voice for these programs throughout the crisis. In recent days, a number of federal ministers have felt the need to propose assistance programs to the public that do not always meet a need. Their guidelines were very muddled or did not reflect the remarks of their officials, such as the employment insurance program on the subject of the grace period and the waiting period. The members of the Bloc Quebecois will draw this to the attention of the minister tomorrow at noon.

In closing, I want to tell the people in my riding that they may contact my riding office for further information. I will be happy to give them all the support I can in solving their problems.

Quebec will come away enriched from this exercise of fraternity, generosity and solidarity. To the great builders, many thanks, the future is ours.

[Clifford Lincoln, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to give notice that I will share my time with my colleague from Nepean—Carleton.

Despite the late hour, I wanted to share in the discussion of this motion on the ice storm. I wanted to express my profound gratitude to the people and the officials of my riding for their devotion and their remarkable community spirit through these difficult days, which forced so many people to leave their homes for shelters.

The fact that we overcame this crisis in each of our regions in total harmony and discipline is thanks to the values of generosity and mutual support in our communities.

I would like to pay a very special tribute to all my fellow citizens of Lac-Saint-Louis, but above all to our mayors without whose leadership, commitment and efficiency the hardship suffered by so many would have been far more significant. May I express my profound thanks to Mayors Malcolm Knox of Pointe Claire, Peter Yeomans of Dorval, John Meaney of Kirkland, Roy Kemp of Beaconsfield, Anne Myles of Baie d'Urfé, Bill Tierney of St. Anne de Bellevue and George McLeish of Senneville.

I would also like to thank Marcel Morin, the mayor of Pierrefonds. A small part of this city is in my riding, the largest part being in the riding of my colleague from Pierrefonds—Dollard.

May I also thank all the city councillors in all our towns and municipalities, the city managers and their staff, all of whom carried out sterling work. I do not want to forget our firefighters, our police men and women and all those officials who performed so tirelessly and courageously in extremely difficult and often dangerous conditions.

May I say a very special word of thanks to the thousands of volunteers all across our cities and towns who helped to make their fellow citizens safe and comfortable. They deserve our immense gratitude.

I visited several shelters in my riding, and the spirit of co-operation and generosity that I saw there was remarkable. Everybody seemed patient and cheerful despite the inconvenience.

I want to mention the remarkable work done by our hospitals. Having spent some time at the veterans hospital in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, I was able to see how the staff and volunteers reacted to this crisis with compassion, dedication and efficiency. An entire wing of the hospital, which had been closed up to that time, was reopened and reequipped to receive senior citizens from several regions.

A shelter was set up for veterans and their families who were driven from their homes by the storm. Some staff members worked close to a week without respite. The hospital, which usually serves about 2,000 meals a day, served more than 5,000 meals a day during the crisis.

One evening, I talked to three Hydro-Quebec workers who told me they had worked 16 hours a day every day under virtually impossible conditions. All these hydro workers from Quebec as well as from other provinces and from the United States deserve our gratitude.

The Canadian Armed Forces performed way beyond the call of duty. All the mayors in my riding had only effusive praise for the tremendous dedication and efficiency of all the members of the armed forces. On behalf of the citizens of Lac-Saint-Louis may I thank them most warmly as I do the Prime Minister, the Minister of National Defence and all the ministers and their staff for their contributions to the substantial federal effort.

Next Monday, I will attend a meeting with provincial MPs and the mayors from my riding to review the crisis in order to see what can be learned from it and to make recommendations that I will pass on to the ministers concerned.

Among the suggestions that we will be examining is a possible governor general citation that could be awarded to volunteers and other individuals who distinguished themselves through their contribution during the crisis.

It would be an excellent idea also if through Trees Canada young trees were provided by the federal government to the municipalities for distribution to citizens for reforestation. It seems that among the deciduous trees, white oaks and lindens resisted the most strongly to the ice storm.

Many lessons will result from the ice storm. Municipalities which were well prepared with emergency action plans, with trained personnel and with adequate emergency equipment coped with amazing efficiency despite the tremendous hurdles and difficulties. However in outlying areas and small municipalities the crisis caught many unprepared.

We came out of this experience with the realization that we have a considerable task ahead so as to fully prepare our communities for a sudden emergency and to maximize the co-ordination of our efforts.

We must certainly plan a greater diversification of our power grid and support systems in case of a crisis.

Climate change and El Nino are not a myth as the ice storm and the recent severe weather disruptions in California and Florida have shown. We have no choice but to be fully prepared for the worst. Serious difficulties and crises have a way of bringing out the very best in all of us. Suddenly we are all human beings and fellow citizens sharing a common cause facing the hardship. Gone are the quarrels, political and otherwise, which tend to divide us so often day in and day out.

So amid the discomfort and hardships suffered by so many, let us remember the moments we have shared in mutual generosity and friendship. Let us celebrate our communities and the remarkable community spirit which inspires them.

The crisis has shown me that the great values that make Canada a special country are there to the fore.

Mr. Speaker, may I once again thank all the volunteers and all those who helped to make our lives so much better during the crisis.

[David Pratt, Liberal, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am certainly very pleased to participate in the discussion this evening on the ice storm. It is an event that few of us who were close to it will ever forget.

I am sure my riding of Nepean—Carleton was like many others that were hit. Some areas in Nepean got away with a power interruption of a few minutes or hours. Other areas, like the rural southern part of my riding which contains the townships of Osgoode, Rideau and Goulbourn, were down for more than two weeks.

The ice storm was a rather graphic lesson for all of us about the power of nature. Just when we think we have a measure of control over our environment, along comes a storm like this to drive home the message that our systems are not fail safe, that we are vulnerable and that we better have a healthy respect for mother nature.

The evidence of the devastation wrought by the ice storm was very much apparent with hydro poles that had snapped off and trees that were bent and broken. I counted 10 to 12 hydro poles down on a short stretch of Donnelly Road in the southern part of my riding. On the southeastern corner around Marionville the steel towers carrying high voltage lines had crumpled into heaps of twisted metal one after another after another.

Inasmuch as the damage was clearly visible by day it was only really at night that one got a full appreciation of the problem. I can clearly recall driving out of Barrhaven in the Nepean area on Thursday, January 8 to visit a friend in Manotick and to make a few other stops in the rural area. This fellow had sent his family off to a hotel and was hunkering down with a transistor radio, numerous candles and a wood stove. He was determined to make sure his pipes did not freeze and to maintain a vigil on the home front. He was not unlike many others who were beginning a routine like that.

Driving south in my riding that evening was extremely eerie. Everything was in darkness, no street lights, no traffic lights and very little traffic. The odd candle could be seen but even these were few and far between. I thought one soldier who had done a tour of duty in Yugoslavia summed it up pretty well when he arrived on the scene. He said that the place looked just like Sarajevo without the bullets.

During the course of the ice storm I made it a point to travel around my riding. I visited the shelters and worked with municipal officials wherever I could to provide assistance and information. In the face of all the hardship and destruction, it was encouraging to see so many people demonstrating strength, resourcefulness and generosity all the while maintaining a sense of humour.

On one of my road trips to the southeastern corner of my riding there was a banner up along the main street of the small village of Kenmore which read “10 days and counting, never surrender. The Kenmore Quilting and Chainsaw Club”. I saw a lot of people with a lot of spirit during the ice storm but the people in Kenmore definitely take the prize for originality and good humour.

It was the average person who really made the difference in the aftermath of the storm. These volunteers did an absolutely incredible job. They were the unsung heroes of the ice storm. I saw them in the shelters cooking and serving the meals, washing dishes, tidying up, comforting the elderly, playing with kids who were getting a little stir crazy and who just wanted to go home. Volunteers were out transporting large generators from farm to farm and hooking them up, making sure cows would be milked and watered.

There were those who organized neighbourhood watches to ensure people's property was protected. There were those who checked on elderly people and delivered firewood and those who made sure basements did not flood by providing small generators for sump pumps.

In the little village of Vernon there were people like Roy, Bill and Jeff Porteous, Cecil van Wylick, Roy Mills, Tom Dalgliesh and Hubert Bray working away in the kitchen of the Vernon Community Centre where people like Heather Bellinger, Carol Acres and Kay Porteous were preparing thousands of meals.

The same situation with ordinary people rising to the challenge, pulling together and helping each other was played out day after day throughout my riding in communities like Richmond, Munster Hamlet, Ashton, North Gower, Kars, Burritts Rapids, Osgoode, Greely and Metcalfe.

Not only did neighbours help neighbours but communities helped other communities. Barrhaven, which was an area relatively unscathed by the ice storm, mobilized. The Cedarview Alliance Church set to work preparing meals for hydro crews and ended up shipping canned goods and hot meals to shelters in Kars, Osgoode, Vernon and other places. A number of people working in the shelters made it a point to say to me, “David, when you get back to Nepean, be sure to thank those people in Barrhaven for us”.

The people at the municipal level in my riding really excelled during the ice storm. As I am sure is the case elsewhere, each municipality in our area has an emergency preparedness plan. During the 10 years I spent in municipal government our emergency preparedness plan spent a lot of time collecting dust between periodic and infrequent reviews. However, it was nice to see that when a real emergency hits, these plans generally work pretty well. They definitely are not absolutely perfect in every respect and I anticipate there will be some fine tuning with some of them, but generally they did the job that they were intended to do.

I would be remiss if I did not mention some of the people at the regional and local levels who put in very long hours, working around the clock in some cases, and who did exceptional work. Bob Chiarelli, our new regional chair, and his chief administrative officer, Merv Beckstead, were first rate. Doug Thompson, the mayor of Osgoode, and his CAO, Moira Winch, were superb. In Rideau township Mayor Glenn Brooks and his CAO, Gary Dillabough, were excellent. Mayor Janet Stavinga and her CAO, Bob Townend, did a fabulous job. Finally, in my own municipality of Nepean, Mayor Mary Pitt and her CAO, Bob Letourneau, also did a great job.

I know it has been mentioned before in this discussion but I will mention it again. The personnel of the Canadian forces made us truly proud and they have our profound gratitude. Brigadier General Hillier, who was co-ordinating the military effort of the region, sensed the level of appreciation when he said that while he recognized that the people of Ottawa—Carleton were becoming attached to his troops, he wanted to caution us that they were not available for adoption.

The troops were everywhere, in trucks, in helicopters and on foot. They cleared debris, worked alongside hydro workers and police and provided a level of comfort and security that people desperately needed. More than once I heard people say thank God for the army.

When Major Bernie Derible of the Royal Canadian Dragoons packed up his troops and left the village of Metcalfe there were people on both sides of the street waving emotional goodbyes. The local firefighters and the Dragoons changed colours and then the firefighters lined the street to give them a salute as the army trucks rolled by. They were given a send off befitting an army of liberation. Their work, their energy and their enthusiasm certainly did not go unnoticed in my riding.

While life has returned to normal for most people, for some the nightmare of the ice storm continues. One of my constituents, Mr. Peter Raats, had his four year old barn collapse on January 23 from the combined weight of ice and a new accumulation of snow. His insurance company refuses to cover his loss. During the storm he milked 200 head of cattle by hand until he got a generator and even then it only worked for one day before it broke down. Mr. Raats' latest setback occurred on Sunday. While tearing down a part of the collapsed barn he fell through the roof and broke his hip.

In ice storm fashion, his neighbours have rallied to his side. Led by a local RCMP officer, Gary Clements, a special support fund for Mr. Raats has been set up at the Royal Bank in Metcalfe. For those who might be interested in helping out with a donation, the account No. is 5012976. I should add that the fund will be independently audited and any donations exceeding the target amount of $200,000 will be turned over to the Red Cross. Donations of voluntary labour to help rebuild Mr. Raats' barn are also certainly welcome.

In closing I would simply like to say a sincere thank you to all those both inside and outside my riding of Nepean—Carleton who assisted in the relief and reconstruction effort. The response of Canadians from coast to coast was absolutely magnificent. I know that the sense of community in my riding was strong before the ice storm. I can assure this House that it is even stronger today.

[Werner Schmidt, Reform, Kelowna, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House today to talk about the issues that have arisen as a result of the ice storm.

It was my privilege to go to the county of Lanark, south of this city and a little east of Ottawa, and look at the devastation the ice storm had caused in the maple sugar bush country. It was heart rending to see what had happened to the trees in that area. In some cases the tops of the trees were broken off and in other cases huge branches had broken off. The extent of the damage was absolutely phenomenal in certain areas. It was tree after tree after tree. I compared it to some of my experiences and observations in Alberta when a tornado went through and the tops of the trees were broken off. In this case the ice had broken off the tops of the trees.

We went through this area and asked ourselves what was so significant about what happened there. The tops were broken but was that all that had happened? The sap flows up and down the trunk of the tree, of course. It became clear to us as we went through the various tours. We went to one sugar bush farm, right to the trees and began to look at the branches.

The operator told us very clearly there were tiny little branches on which the leaves form that were broken off. Fifty per cent or more of the crown of that tree was gone and if the branches do not generate leaves, then indeed the life of that tree is in jeopardy. Nobody knows at this point how many of those trees will survive this storm.

We looked at the trees but what really hit home were the people. We saw the people meet at a place called Wheeler's Pancake House. We met in a big assembly room. About 75 or 80 maple syrup farmers were there.

It became painfully obvious that these people are suffering. They are suffering today. There were many who were inconvenienced. There were many who suffered while the electricity was off but these farmers are suffering now because their livelihood is in jeopardy.

We ask ourselves what is being done. What can be done now? I want to pay tribute as well to the armed services and other personnel who helped to bring the power back into the lines. The issue now for these farmers is what do we do now to take care of the problem they have.

There are three kinds of problems identified. Many of these farmers have a network of pipes along which the sap is collected to a central spot and there the water is boiled off and the syrup or sugar is made.

Many of these pipes are covered with ice and snow. Because they froze and the ice is there it is very difficult now to take it off these pipes. These people need help to get the pipes out of the ice and snow and there may not be enough manpower to get this done before the sap starts flowing within the next three or four weeks.

Also, they need money to put the taps into the trees and to make sure it is possible to get that sap when it comes. They need to get to the trees. When we looked at the way the branches had fallen down between the trees, it became very obvious it was almost impossible for the farmers to get to the trees in order to tap the trunks and to do the work that had to be done without removing the branches that were in the way.

Clearing needs to be done. There are three problems with this. There is money needed along with machines and manpower to do the job. What will happen to these people?

We need to go beyond this as well and ask ourselves how long it will be before the income they are losing this year will be replaced. In some instances, if the trees die, it will be between 40 and 50 years before they are restored to the stage they were at.

We need to look at this and ask ourselves what happened, what has been demonstrated as time goes forward. This illustrated that people get together. We saw 75 or 80 people come together in a group, not asking the government to help them but what they could do to work together to solve the problem.

I forgot to mention that I am splitting my time with the member for West Kootenay—Okanagan.

The Ontario Maple Producers Association was represented at this meeting, the local chapter. The one thing that impressed me with this group was that its members clearly articulated the problem. They took responsibility for trying to solve that problem. They knew what should be done. They had asked themselves what should be done, what the cost would be, who was the most in need and how they could go about solving the problem.

Of particular significance was that they said they had all kinds of administrative creations done by federal governments, provincial governments, municipal governments and so on but wanted to distribute the funds and assistance given to them themselves.

They felt they knew who the people were who were applying for this assistance, who needed it the most. They were not going to use this money for administration. It was going to go to the people, the farmers who really needed the help.

I commend these people at the grassroots level who came to us with specific reasons why this should be done this way. They told us what needed to be done, how much money it would take and how best to solve this problem. They came up with a rather creative solution, one which I wanted to pass to the minister of industry just a moment ago.

This farmer said “We need the money now. We haven't got time to go through all the red tape that is necessary. We need that money today and tomorrow. How would it be if we got an indication from the government that this kind of help will be available through various disaster funds and between now and then some bridge financing might be created as an interest free loan for that time period?”

These are the kinds of suggestions these people came up with. They do not want a handout. They are proud people. They want to help themselves.

What have we learned from this disaster? I think we have learned that Canadians care. People care for each other. There is compassion. There is a love for one another. That has been demonstrated clearly and powerfully.

The other thing that has happened that I am proud of is that these people have demonstrated very clearly, without a shadow of a doubt, that the strength of Canada does not lie in its ability to generate electricity or its ability to apply the various technologies. What it has demonstrated more clearly than ever before is that Canada's strength lies in the willingness of the people to care for one another from one end of Canada to the other.

In Kelowna, for example, the Flightcraft people donated a huge Purolator courier service aircraft filled with containers of relief goods for the people in Ontario. That is what happened. A bond developed among Canadians that will make Canada stronger. There was a strong demonstration of intellectual ability, skill and the ability to be motivated as well as a spiritual quality that binds us together.

I hope this disaster which hurt all of us, some very much more than others, will bind us together and make us a strong nation.

[Jim Gouk, Reform, West Kootenay—Okanagan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, much of the presentations this evening focused on the devastation of the recent ice storms and of the hardship that its victims have had to endure, and rightly so.

Whenever Canadians are subjected to such overwhelming difficulties, their stories must be told. This is true no matter where in this vast country this occurs, be it Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada, Manitoba with the floods, Swift Current, the Peace River country, or in my riding where last year's flood caused millions of dollars in damage as well as the loss of life of a resident.

There is another side to these stories of devastation, a warmer and more encouraging story of one part of this country reaching out to another.

Nestled near the geographic centre of my riding of West Kootenay—Okanagan is the town of Grand Forks, British Columbia. Grand Forks has a population of about 4,000 in the city and another 3,500 in its rural area. It is set in a valley surrounded by forested mountains. It sits right on the American border approximately half way between Vancouver and Calgary.

Grand Forks' principal activities include forestry and farming. Grand Forks is not a rich town. Unemployment is around 11 per cent and forestry based employers are looking at layoffs due to major provincial problems in the forest industry. However, Grand Forks is very rich in one ingredient that surpasses all others, open hearted generosity.

An idea began with one teacher from Grand Forks secondary school. Emilie Belak had been following the story of the ice storm and its tales of hardship endured by those who had lost their power, heat and water. She proposed that some of the students from the affected eastern area be invited to Grand Forks.

Others added to and promoted this idea which ultimately resulted in 74 students from the hard hit area of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, many of whom were reduced to the point of living in rescue centres, being hosted by the Grand Forks community. Thus began what was dubbed “Operation Freeze Lift”.

Many people were involved in making this possible. Transportation was made possible by the generosity of Canadian Airlines and Air Canada, with much of the initiative in securing this again undertaken locally by B.C. forestry dispatcher Cindy Munns.

With much prompting by school principal Denny Kemprud, the B.C. provincial education department contacted Quebec's deputy minister of education who delivered the Grand Forks offer directly to a candle lit meeting of South Shore's Monteregie school division.

Many other people were involved in making this event possible, far too many to name in the time allowed for this presentation. In actual fact the entire town was involved in making it possible. In excess of 200 families offered to take students in and many businesses generously offered gifts and services throughout the students' stay.

In all, 74 students and their teacher-chaperons arrived in Grand Forks mid-January. These people travelled to Grand Forks anticipating their first regular access to power and hot showers in two weeks. As stated by one of those involved, they were not prepared for the overwhelming generosity and friendliness of the people of Grand Forks.

The students attended classes at the school and when they were not in class they were taken skiing, hiking, shopping, to movies, sports and other special events. These activities were done as a group but there were also many other individual activities provided by the host families.

Last Friday the teachers, students, host families and others who had played an important role in making this all come together were guests at a luncheon hosted by local Russian Doukhobor Society members who make up a significant portion of the population. I attended that luncheon and listened to visiting students talk, tearfully at times, of their gratitude to their hosts and to others in the community.

Politics were not part of this visit. Although the national unity situation may well have been on some people's minds, it was rarely raised. Even though it was not discussed, the impact of this western generosity will be felt for many years to come.

One of the teacher-chaperons who teaches art and religion stated that Grand Forks is a lesson plan for a school course in values, ethics and morals, and she now plans to write that course.

Another of the teacher-chaperons stated that it would be hard to leave such a remarkable town which was so sincere and so generous. She had no doubt that most of her students would leave with a different view of the west.

One of those students best summed up this opinion by saying “When part of this country is in trouble, that another part would help is something” and then after a moment's thought he added “strengthening”. It is an example of one member of the Canadian family helping another member of that family when they are in need. Like in any other family there is a time to pursue individual needs and there is a time to pull together.

Grand Forks made this great gesture solely out of its natural generosity, but it is a prime example of how we are part of a national family. Family members can be independent without rejecting the family they belong to.

This wonderful small British Columbia town should serve to inspire all Canadians to recognize that despite whatever differences we have we also have common bonds.

I and all of my constituents in West Kootenay—Okanagan offer condolences to all those who have suffered as a result of the ice storm. I am sure all of my colleagues in the House join in offering our heartfelt thanks to the generosity of the people of Grand Forks.

[Karen Redman, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Mississauga South.

The ice storm of 1998 will go down in history for many reasons. It truly was a disaster of historic proportions. To the people who experienced deprivation and loss inflicted by the storm I extend my sincere sympathy.

There remains much to be done to restore full power and to recover from the losses to person and property, especially in the rural areas of Quebec and eastern Ontario.

In the face of a natural disaster of such proportion immediate and targeted action is required. I am proud of the speed with which the government mobilized operation recuperation. Over 15,000 regular and reserved troops went to assist those communities affected. This is the largest peacetime mobilization of soldiers in Canadian history.

An army of hydro workers from Quebec Hydro and Ontario Hydro came to rebuild the power lines of a system devastated by ice and the elements. It is work that still continues.

I commend the partnership of local levels of government and the provincial governments which have acted decisively in providing leadership to recovery efforts.

Helping hands were extended from across the nation and across the United States border to help in any way they could, from providing the much sought after generators to volunteers who staffed mobile kitchens and cleared away debris.

It is difficult not to be overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of this event. However, individual Canadians reached out to fellow Canadians to offer help and demonstrate sense of community that exists in the country. The efforts ranged from donations of money to actually travelling to the devastated regions.

In my riding of Kitchener Centre help was focused on two Quebec ridings and one in eastern Ontario. The local media played a key role in alerting the community to specific items such as wicks for kerosene lamps and baby diapers that were in short supply. Kitchener firefighters used a centrally located station as a collection depot. The food bank of KW and the local Red Cross collected food items and supplies. The Indian Canadian Association of Kitchener—Waterloo raised several thousands of dollars when a young man from that community asked his father “what can we do?” The KW Humane Society travelled to the affected areas and brought back animals for shelter and adoption. Grant Transport shipped large quantities of heating oil and chain saw oil which was donated by Monarch Oil. Erb Transport sent daily runs of trucks containing supplies into Montreal for distribution to outlying areas.

These are just a sampling of the initiatives that were carried out by my community, a demonstration of the concern and goodwill that the people of Kitchener feel for their fellow citizens who were affected by this disaster.

I take this opportunity to express my gratitude and acknowledge the hard work and dedication of everyone involved, including especially members of my staff. I am heartened by their action and humbled by the generosity.

The devastation caused by the ice storm of 1998, the damage to the landscape and the loss of property which continues to still be tallied will take years to recover from. The turmoil in human terms and the loss of loved ones are emotional issues that will only be dealt with by individuals with the passage of time. However time can never dim the individual acts of heroism and the collective goodwill and charity which Canadians extended to fellow Canadians.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, just a little over six hours ago the House adjourned its proceedings to conduct this special debate on the ice storm, Canada's greatest, largest, natural disaster in its history.

Having listened to the eloquent stories and speeches by cabinet ministers and members of Parliament on all sides of the House, Canadians might be wondering why this debate is being held. It is important that we reflect a bit on the purpose of the debate.

There is no question from the comments that have been made before the House already that this is the time to recognize and acknowledge the performance of governments and agencies at all levels; the federal government, all its departments and all the different things they contributed; members of Parliament in their various ridings; provincial governments, MPPs and their agencies; regional governments; and municipal governments. There is no question that the performance was exceptional. They are to be thanked and recognized for the assistance provided to Canadians in their time of need.

It makes me think that in Canada we have a diversion in which we like to jostle elected officials. At a time like this Canadians will recognize that all levels of government performed exceptionally well at a time of great need.

The debate is also about recognizing volunteer organizations and the unsung heroes, the individual volunteers we have heard about today. They rose to the challenge and did not wait for the invitation. They did some exceptional things.

Today I heard stories that I want to remember. I know Canadians want to remember them too. They are about young children who were sending in their allowances to assist with the financial aid and about people who stopped their lives, their businesses, and brought truck loads of goods, supplies, wood and equipment. These stories are very important to remember.

I think about organizations such as the Red Cross which has gone through a very difficult time. Yet it was a leader in providing and co-ordinating assistance and aid to Canadians in need when they needed it. They were there and the Red Cross should be thanked.

I think about our military. The Minister of National Defence spoke very eloquently about the special contributions, the experience, the expertise, the calming influence and the controlling influence they brought to the situation to make sure the job was done well. We know that the military has gone through a very difficult time as well in recent months. However today we recognize, acknowledge and celebrate the fact that we have one of the best military forces available for Canadians when needed.

There are two other reasons I believe we are having this debate. It is very important for Canadians to understand that as long as there is one Canadian that still has need related to this tragic disaster the job is not complete. The support will continue. All levels of government and all Canadians will continue to provide support for the needs expressed by people who are affected.

There will be scars and lasting damage. It will take decades for some things to be repaired and there are some things that will never be repaired. However Canadians are moving on. We are getting the job done and we are doing it well.

If Canadians want to help there is a way that they can do so. The Red Cross is still raising financial donations to assist with relief for those in need. If Canadians would like to make a contribution they can call 1-800-850-5090. They can also contact their local Red Cross agency or even their own member of Parliament who would be more than happy to make sure their contribution gets to the Red Cross to be used to purchase the things other Canadians need.

The final reason we are having this debate concerns the chronicling of history. As I said, this is the largest natural disaster in the history of the country. It not only demonstrates the character of Canadians, the preparedness of Canadians and the will to care and to be there when others are in need. It has a lot to do with defining Canadians.

Many years ago there was an effort to try to define what is a Canadian and what are Canadian values. One of the conclusions was that Canada was so diverse in its geography, its people and its cultural heritage that it was very difficult to put into words and capture the essence of Canada.

Events like this, events such as the Saguenay flood, events that took place in the Peace River, the floods in Manitoba and this tragic ice storm that affected much of Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, those are the things that show what Canadians do when there is a challenge. Canadians rose to that challenge. They came forward and demonstrated Canadian values.

We define Canada not in words. We define Canada by our actions. We are chronicling those actions in this debate so that we will never forget how important this country is and how proud we are today, as we have been time and time again, of the way that Canadians have responded to the needs of their neighbours, friends and fellow Canadians across the country from sea to sea to sea.

When I saw members of Parliament come here and talk about the individual stories, it really touched me to hear how they wanted to say thank you to the people in their communities for those special things. We are here to say thank you to individuals, to organizations and to all Canadians for their caring. Whether they could participate in the relief effort or not, the fact is that Canadians right across the country demonstrated their concern for their fellow Canadians. That is what this is all about. We are defining Canada, not in words but in the story of the heroic actions in Canada's greatest time of need.

[Jean-Guy Chrétien, Bloc, Frontenac—Mégantic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if I may, I will share my time with my distinguished colleague, the member for Hochelaga—Maisonneuve.

I would like to join with all the speakers who have taken part in this emergency debate on the ice storm to thank and congratulate people who had to deal with what could be called a historical storm, the storm of the century.

I am thinking especially about the Premier of Quebec, Lucien Bouchard, the president of Hydro-Quebec, André Caillé, the head of public security, the Prime Minister of Canada, the leaders of the Canadian army, all the mayors in areas hit by the storm, who without any training whatsoever were able to deal with this storm the extent of which could not be properly assessed, even from the air, in a helicopter or otherwise. One could only have a limited view of things. Nobody in this House is yet aware of the real impact of this ice storm.

I would also like to congratulate people in my riding, volunteers for collecting wood, of course, and money, but also for the love and caring they were able to show for those hard hit by the storm.

I am thinking especially of teachers in the Amiante regional school board who, without a word of protest, agreed to have scores and scores of children from the infamous “triangle of darkness” come at a rate of one or two per classroom, to take French, history, maths and English. They did not look at their collective agreement. They just said: “Welcome in our classroom”.

I would now like to deal mainly with the problem of our maple producers, since there are some 2,000 in my riding, with between 1,000 and over 100,000 tapholes. I had the chance to take part in two meetings with major groups of maple producers. The first meeting, organized by producers themselves, was held at Stornoway, at the junction of roads 108 and 161, where demonstrators symbolically barred traffic on both roads to raise the awareness of both levels of government. The second meeting took place on my initiative in Thetford Mines, where over 150 maple producers gathered to get some information.

I would like to ask the federal and provincial governments for some financial support that could compensate our maple producers for the loss of their working capital. An example. In a egg producing farm where, for example, 20,000 hens had suffocated to death as a result of the power failure, there would be a compensation for the loss of these 20,000 hens that I would call working capital. The maple producer who has 20,000 tapholes and whose maple trees would be to all intents and purposes dead within a year or two could not be compensated since this is not considered as working capital in the same sense as the animals that would have died as a result of the ice storm.

I recall a case that I think would be worth sharing with my colleagues who are here in this House. A couple from Sainte-Cécile-de-Whitton who sold their dairy farm, their quota, to go into maple production, own over 100,000 tapholes. If you do some quick calculations, you will find out that at a minimum of $20 per tap you get a fair amount—100,000 times $20; you do the mathematics. This couple estimates that the syrup production in their maple bush will be down by 40 to 60 per cent. They are finished if they do not get any help.

Worse yet, our maple producers are very often in debt to the federal government, through the Farm Credit Corporation, or to the provincial government, through the Société de financement agricole . Some will have to file for bankruptcy. Therefore the Farm Credit Corporation will have to assume ownership of a maple syrup operation which is no longer profitable. Or, if the money had been provided by the Société , it is the government of Quebec which will have to deal with the bankruptcy. You understand that.

Therefore, I think it would be wise to help the maple producers financially. One of my constituents showed me a video. He filmed the situation in the farm he was preparing for his retirement. He would have cut some 25 or 30 cords of wood per quarter, just to add some income to his pension, and would have lived happily, doing what he enjoys.

Unfortunately, all the deciduous trees, or at least 80 per cent of them, because it is difficult to say 100 per cent, are doomed.

My second plea for help is directed to the minister of Human Resources Development. Through his partnership program for job creation, he proposed $25 million for Quebec, but the program applies only to people presently receiving employment insurance or who received it during the last 36 months. Within the “ Granit et Amiante ” regional municipality there is clearly a lack of trained manpower to work in maple bushes and pull the plastic tubing from under the ice and the fallen branches.

There is a staff shortage and I am waiting for an answer, but time is of the essence. The sap should start flowing within three weeks, or a month at the most. If we miss that date, maple syrup producers will obviously lose money.

I will conclude by simply saying that I deplore the attitude of certain petty politicians in this country, who took advantage of the situation to score political points. I am thinking, among others, of the member for Bourassa, and the Ontario premier, Mr. Harris, who, during the South American trip with the Prime Minister, took advantage of Mr. Bouchard's absence, who had his hands full managing the crisis in Quebec.

Again, congratulations to all those who did such a good job of managing the crisis. Polls conducted in Quebec clearly show that Lucien Bouchard, André Caillé and the armed forces are the three big winners following this crisis, the likes of which we hope never to experience again.

Thank you for your attention. The hon. member for Hochelaga—Maisonneuve will use up the rest of the time allotted to me.

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague who described the situation in his riding with all of his well-known sensitivity and eloquence.

The months of January and February will be forever remembered in our history as times of almost exceptional solidarity.

To really understand the true nature of Quebeckers, the way they ract as one and their natural generosity, one should thoroughly analyze this crisis.

The public shelters set up by the emergency preparedness organization, often with the help of municipalities, were not where most people in trouble gathered. It is interesting to see that, when Quebeckers realized they needed help, their first reaction was to go to their neighbours, their friends and relatives, to seek shelter in their basements or houses and some sense of solidarity.

The solidarity shown at the height of this rather unique and remarkable crisis that is the worst disaster our seniors can remember is quite extraordinary. It is also interesting to note that Quebeckers never lost heart. They rolled up their sleeves and showed an almost unprecedented level of solidarity.

Of course, everyone was called in to help. I want to tell you what happened in Hochelaga—Maisonneuve. As we know, Montreal was not the worst hit area, but several of our fellow citizens were without power for several days.

This is what happened. Michel Allen mobilized his employees and volunteers, who have been extremely helpful, at the Pierre-Charbonneau Centre, a city facility. For a few days, people who could not be taken in by neighbours, relatives or friends stayed at the Pierre-Charbonneau Centre and the Olympic Stadium, in the riding of Hochelaga—Maisonneuve.

Another very moving initiative in Montreal is what Mr. Duchesneau, the chief of police of the Urban Community of Montreal, asked of all his police officers. All the police officers in Montreal, together with volunteers, systematically did what members of Parliament are used to, that is go door-to-door.

It is very comforting to think that in an emergency situation such as the one we experienced in January, all Montreal homes were visited. Police officers and volunteers knocked on every door to make sure people were not having problems, suffering from the cold or in need of food. If they did, the relevant services would be called in. What a nice speedy and generous collective response.

I would also like to talk about another very moving story that is worth mentioning. It is about a youth centre at the corner of Adam and Saint-Clément, right in my neighbourhood. This institution called Escale Notre-Dame welcomes people who have had drug problems in the past, and it is run by the Christian Brothers. These young people gave their time. They took turns, day and night, to provide entertainment and support in the Pierre- Charbonneau Centre.

I want to thank them because they have their own problems and are undergoing rehabilitation so they can reintegrate society. Through this experience, they could realize how great and generous they can be through involvement and dedication.

I would like to name these ten or so young people, and I hope my colleagues will join me in expressing their thanks and appreciation to them for their dedication and involvement. I am thinking of André Larose, Florian Lebreton, Steve Gravelle, Rahid Amlabid, Sylvain Décosse, Philippe Paradis, Robert Desrochers, Réjean Hogue, Roger Boucher and Stéphane Lessard, who are all 20 to 25 years old and who put on a show at the Centre Pierre-Charbonneau and did it of course with all the generosity, serenity and courage required in the circumstances.

It is because a series of factors that we all came out of this the better for it. First, of course, we were able to fall back on the community networks. Also, as my colleague, the member for Frontenac—Mégantic, mentioned, we were able to rely on the strength of the public sector. In a city like Montreal, needless to say that the CLSC was called into service. I am thinking of the CLSC Hochelaga—Maisonneuve and its manager, Mr. Leguerrier as well as the CLSC Olivier-Guimond, in the east of my riding, that rapidly organized reliefs efforts and took especially good care of our seniors.

It is well known that everyone cannot react with the same speed in an emergency when we must mobilize. I must say that the authorities in my community, particularly the health care system which must be the closest to the people, and our frontline health services, the CLSC, took specially good care of the elderly.

We know it was important to do it. Often times, the elderly tend to be afraid of bothering other people, of asking for services, and to wish to take care of themselves in their natural environment. We were afraid seniors would put their safety in danger by not asking for help even if they needed it.

The worst was avoided because public authorities did the right thing, because the CLSC and its staff got involved.

I would also like to mention the recreation organizations which are very important resources in a community like mine. I particularly want to underline the work done by Jeunes Sportifs d'Hochelaga. That social club sent volunteers to help police go door to door in my neighbourhood and to make sure that all the people likely to need help were reached. Furthermore, a telephone network was set up in three days. Three times in three days, the network was used to reach everybody. The fact that it could be set up—and you can imagine the tremendous effort involved—and that all our people were reached is due in large part to the volunteer work done by Jeunes Sportifs d'Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, along with Pierrette Demers with her husband Robert Demers, who have run this association for over 15 years.

I close by thanking the Canadian Armed Forces as well. You know I have always felt and have argued in my party that in a sovereign Quebec we should have a civilian protection force. If there is something which was eloquently demonstrated, it is that all societies need organizations to protect people. I think we need a civilian rescue organization made up of people who are absolutely dedicated and whose role is not questioned so that they can reach out and be of service to people.

We express our gratitude to the Canadian army because it was not an issue of partisanship. When people do some good within a community, no partisanship scenario can stand and I know I speak on behalf of my fellow citizens when I rise in this House to pay tribute to the Quebec military and reserve forces who did a truly extraordinary job.

To conclude, I want to thank all those who transformed an ordeal into a great moment of solidarity. I believe we can truly say that we have all come out of this crisis better persons, different in some ways. I know we are equipped for the future, ready to face not only any danger but any possible scenario of general mobilization.

To all the volunteers, to all my colleagues in the House, I say thank you. I believe we have all been changed greatly by this crisis.

[André Harvey, Progressive Conservative, Chicoutimi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, first, let me thank you for recognizing me at this late hour. I also want to mention that what you said last week about wanting to celebrate Quebec culture as one of the great human foundations was well received by a lot of people. I encourage you to try and share that new way of seeing things with all your caucus and I wish you luck.

First, I want to commend my colleagues for Shefford and Richmond—Arthabaska as well as our leader, the hon. member for Sherbrooke, for insisting on having this debate on the serious crises we have experienced over the last year and a half, particularly the recent ice storm.

I am very happy to have been able to come back to this Parliament if only to thank all our fellow Canadians who have helped us a lot during this extremely difficult period. The people of Chicoutimi and of the beautiful Saguenay—Lac Saint-Jean region know very well how desperate and frustrated you can be when nature wreaks havoc.

You saw the pictures at the time, a year and a half ago, of the area in the heart of the city of Chicoutimi called “Le bassin”, and what they called the little white house, which survived the wild and impetuous torrent. I am telling you tonight that this is the old section of Chicoutimi, my neighbourhood, where I grew up and where I was re-elected. I am very proud of it, and that period was a very difficult one.

At the time, we were all struck by the courage and the serenity of the victims and by the extraordinary spirit of solidarity among the people, first in the region, then in Quebec and then throughout the country.

It unfortunately takes a crisis of such magnitude to eliminate political partisanship, ideologies and racial prejudice. It is kind of crazy. Sometimes it looks like nature is taking revenge. Sometimes nature appears to be setting new priorities, because when everything is going well, both individuals and countries take the lazy approach. Laziness is sometimes called the mother of all vices. So nature sometimes decides to remind us of the real priorities and the basic necessities. I hope that all we have faced in the past few years will provide some inspiration for the future.

The great floods have left an indelible mark on our collective unconscious. I am sure that the constituents represented by my colleague, the member for Brandon—Souris, and others who have lived through events as serious as ours, and neighbouring ridings in Manitoba, share these same sentiments.

Yet, throughout these great and terrible tragedies, people's noblest qualities come through. Solidarity, compassion, mutual support, sharing and the desire to serve all flourish and make us proud to belong to the great Canadian family.

In my riding, people took charge immediately, when the gravity of the situation became apparent. People met and organized the distribution of essential supplies. We saw municipal councillors, to whom I wish to pay tribute this evening, Carl Savard and Jacques Bouchard, who directed the delivery of firewood. We know that firewood is a key element for survival in the dead of winter when you have no fuel.

While on this particular topic, I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate my colleague from New Brunswick, the member for Tobique—Mactaquac, who telephoned me at the height of the crisis, having heard that we in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean had organized the collection of firewood. He called me and told me he would have a dozen truckloads of firewood. He asked me to help him direct this contribution that he wanted to send. I found that quite exceptional.

Naturally, we must take this opportunity to congratulate all the volunteers in Quebec and throughout the country who played a role, out of view of the cameras. We must also pay tribute to the work done by all our mayors, elected officials and municipal government employees. I think that the last crisis we have been through will certainly provide us with an opportunity to thank and congratulate the people who helped us survive in our region.

I am thinking of our mayors, among others. The mayor of Chicoutimi at the time; the mayor of La Baie, Claude Richard; the mayor of Ferland-et-Boileau, the municipalities that were almost destroyed, Léon Simard; the mayor of Saint-Félix, Jean-Marie Claveau; the mayor of the very tiny and now famous municipality of Anse-Saint-Jean, Laurent-Yves Simard; the mayor of Petit Saguenay, Hervé Lavoie; they all worked very hard; and the mayor of Rivière Éternité as well.

Interestingly enough, there are no sovereignists and no federalists when disaster strikes, only people who want to help one another. We should learn something from this. We witness this kind of solidarity only in times of crisis.

When there is no crisis, we go back to our collective passivity, to the same old arguments that may not always be a priority for our fellow citizens.

The lesson we should learn is this: Elected representatives should be able to present a constructive agenda to the whole country. We have been going on economic missions abroad. I have nothing against this. I am trying to find out the concrete results of this, and I may be able to come up with specifics in a few weeks. The first mandate for Canada, if we are to promote solidarity among Canadians, is to set up a Canadian economic mission.

I look forward to business people from Chicoutimi meeting with their colleagues in Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. I know for a fact that good trade relations between business people in different regions will have a major cultural impact.

Since we have to deal with new natural phenomena, piecemeal emergency preparedness is not good enough. We need a Canadian plan to support the provinces. We need all the elements, federal and provincial. It is wrong that the Canadian Forces should not be officially part of the emergency preparedness scenarios in Quebec or Alberta. We have to wait for a request from the provincial government to deploy the young men and women of the Canadian Forces. In the future, they must be included in the emergency measure plans, because we are likely to be faced with other unusual weather phenomenons.

We will need different strategic plans. Our forces should also be provided with more modern equipment. I think that from now on we will be less fearful of investing in more sophisticated, more modern equipment for our forces, in order to make them more responsive and more efficient.

I think that the cooperation between the federal and provincial levels of government must also extend to unified emergency plans. Because of all the crises we had to manage during the last year and a half and the ones we can expect in the years to come, we have to opt for a more continuous type of consultation. We can no longer manage these crises at the last minute.

I think that all of the stakeholders would agree that everyone did their best. Things did not go perfectly well, and lessons have to be learned here.

For example, my area was hit a year and a half ago. Some of the smaller municipalities still have huge credit lines. I am thinking in particular of a small village. It has a credit line of $2.4 million since the flood a year and a half ago. That cost them $90,000 in interests last year and it still comes to $12,000 a month in interests for a small village that has yet to receive any compensation. So, there are still problems out there. There are problems because we are not well prepared for these types of emergencies. We have to do better.

This will give the provincial and federal governments a great opportunity to pool their resources together to further help our fellow citizens in times of need.

We cannot have gone through three crises in the space of a year and a half and still think that it will not happen again. These phenomenons are something new in our lives. We have to be better prepared.

I am pleased to give my colleague from South Shore the opportunity to talk about these new phenomenons and the extremely serious crises we have gone through these last few weeks and especially this last year and a half.

[Gerald Keddy, Progressive Conservative, South Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it was not my intent to speak this evening. I would like to thank my hon. colleague from Chicoutimi for allowing me the time to speak this evening and the opportunity. I would also like to speak to the patience of the rest of the members of this Chamber who are waiting to speak at this late hour and congratulate them on the fact that they are in this Chamber and prepared to speak on this important issue.

There are a couple of important things that we should recognize. Number one, we are here late at night discussing an issue of national importance. I am not going to try to add to the eloquent statements that have already been made by many of the members who have been here this evening. I think most of it has been said. However, I have sat through this debate and I would like add a few things to the debate.

First, I was able to look at much of the damage up close and was shocked and appalled at the extent of it. Frankly, I was amazed at the extent of it. We drove from Montreal to Sherbrooke in darkness. You could see the flashing lights on the electrical trucks as far as you could see. There were not five or six, there was not a dozen. There were literally hundreds of them. You had to be there to understand just how bad it was.

The natural resources, the farms, the forestry resources of eastern Ontario and southern Quebec are not only damaged, much of them are devastated. The magnitude and the scope of this damage I don't think parliamentarians, our provincial people or our municipalities have fully understood yet.

Quebec produces 80 per cent of the maple syrup produced in Canada. Ontario produces another 10 per cent. Where are we going to make up that loss? How are those farmers going to put those trees back into production? The tops are broken off the sugar maples, the limbs are stripped from them. Unfortunately I do not think they will ever come back. When the sap starts running in March, we will have an industry that will be lost and completely devastated.

One of the reasons I wanted to stand tonight to speak on this issue is that there has been another area that has been overlooked. The forest resources are going to have to be harvested in much of eastern Ontario and much of southern Quebec. The sugar maples will need to be harvested. The bush without question will have millions and millions of cords of wood that if we don't do something with will be a fire hazard and will be a complete loss.

If we face a summer in 1998 like we faced last summer, we can expect rampant forest fires in all those areas affected now. The woods are dangerous to walk in, dangerous to work in and they are almost impossible to work in. Somehow we have to look on a national scale at some type of a salvage project for these two areas.

The other point I would like to make which everyone else has made this evening, and I will not take much time because there are people waiting to speak, is that we understand the hazards. We understand the dangers. We certainly understand that we have the ability to rise above that.

I think that speaks to the resilience of communities, of municipalities, of provinces and certainly to the resilience of the nation of Canada. Most of all, and I would like to close on this note, I think the events of the past months have spoken to the resilience of the Canadian people.

[Jason Kenney, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I thank all the officers and employees of this Chamber for being so patient with some of us who must seem terribly long winded. It is an important gesture that so many members have been willing to speak to the devastation that so many millions of our fellow citizens have recently experienced.

While I as an Albertan did not have any direct experience with the devastation of the recent ice storm, I want to add the voices of my constituents in solidarity with those who were so deeply devastated by the adversity of ice storm and its consequences to the many eloquent speeches this evening. I represent some 75,000 people in Calgary who live in a part of the province that has been fortunate enough not to experience natural disasters of this nature. When they see a disaster occur in another part of their country they feel affected by it. Many of my constituents expressed to me their desire to assist in any way they possibly could.

My home parish, St. Bonaventure parish, managed to establish a charitable relationship with the St. Thomas More parish at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu which is in the middle of what was called the triangle of darkness in order to raise the necessary funds to support the people in Saint-Jean who have lost so much and are still just recovering.

My only experience with the storm was indirect in that I was supposed to be in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu to attend the Centre d'immersion de la Chambre des communes for French instruction. But on the day I was planning to leave the news of the storm came through and I was unable to travel to Saint-Jean. The Collège militaire, where the immersion centre operates, became an emergency centre for the people of that area. I would like to put on the record our thoughts for the staff of the House of Commons at the immersion centre in Saint-Jean, namely Elizabeth Gervais and her colleagues who are very dedicated servants of this place. I know they have no doubt been deeply troubled by this disaster.

Members of my party often criticize government. We are often characterized as being enemies of government, but one of the things we saw in this storm was the need for government. We saw government at its very best serving the people. We saw local, provincial and federal levels of government working together, marshalling all their resources, as other members have said, putting partisanship, ideology and politics aside to serve their people in their most urgent need.

We have learned many lessons about how we must be better prepared for such emergencies in the future. This demonstrated to those who are cynical about government that government can and must be a force for good in particular when it is so urgently needed at moments like this. That comment is no more clearly applicable than to our military, an institution which for too long in this country has been allowed to decline and dissipate in its strength and resources. For various reasons we have chosen not to invest in the resources needed by our military forces. Now we see how necessary they really are to people when it counts.

More important, the response to the recent adversity really demonstrates what Canada is all about, not government but civil society, community in the most authentic sense. It is about neighbour helping neighbour. It is a cliché but it is profoundly true. We saw the same kind of response to the floods in the Saguenay and the floods in the Red River Valley. We see it whenever Canadians are confronted by adversity.

The history of this country is one of carving out an existence in an intolerably cold and difficult land against the forces of the elements. Sometimes, such as in the last month or so, we find that the elements are stronger than we are. But by gathering together and through the power of synergy that we find in community and civil society and voluntary institutions, it is amazing what can be done to relieve suffering.

Finally, the last lesson I take from the recent adversity is one I learned in the only natural disaster I lived through, which was the terrible devastating earthquake in San Francisco in 1989. Several hundred people died in that city as a result of a huge earthquake in the bay area in California where I was going to college at the time.

I was sitting in a class studying Thomas Aquinas, the doctor of theology. The lecture was about Thomas Aquinas' writing on the grandeur of God and his dominion over nature. Just as we were discussing this rather prescient reflection by the great medieval scholastic, the world began to shake underneath us. I even wondered for a moment whether we were going to fall into the Pacific Ocean and whether it was the big one.

What flashed through my mind at that time which has stuck with me ever since is that no matter how pompous we are about our own powers as human beings, we are brought to the realization from time to time that we are really not in control of our own circumstances, that we are at the mercy of much greater powers than we can ever imagine. I think that was no doubt an emotion and a sentiment experienced by so many of the hundreds of thousands who struggled through this adversity.

I want to close simply by reiterating what some other members have said in their remarks, that financial help is still needed. For those who may be watching these debates, if they have not yet found a way to assist those who have struggled through the ice storm, they can still do so through the good offices of the Red Cross which I understand is still distributing funds to those in need. The Red Cross can be reached at 1-800-850-5090. I understand the Red Cross is still taking financial contributions and distributing them where those resources are most needed.

I want to commend all the other members of this place who have spoken so eloquently and our fellow citizens who have shown us what it really means to be a Canadian.

[Yves Rocheleau, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud and very happy to rise in the House to take part in this debate on the ice storm that hit a large part of the eastern part of North America. Also, this is my first speech of the year in the House, and it is a privilege to make it in these remarkable circumstances.

The ice storm that hit the south shore of the St. Lawrence River had repercussions also in the riding of Trois-Rivières, on the north shore. Indeed 150 disaster victims answered the invitation made by the Sélect Hôtel Le Baron of Trois-Rivières which decided, on its own, to offer 50 rooms free of charge to South Shore disaster victims. One hundred and fifty people accepted the invitation. The hotel also put at the people's disposal an assembly room, as well as a room that was used as a volunteer centre. One hundred and fifty people coming from 19 municipalities located on the South Shore, including the most important that were the subject of many news reports, such as Granby, Saint-Hyacinthe, Drummondville, Saint-Jean d'Iberville, accepted the invitation, and this complicated things somewhat at times administration-wise. I will come back to that later.

One hundred and fifty people: families, couples, elderly people, teenagers full of the vim and vigour they are known to display at times, children, seven infants—one of whom was only four days old when he arrived at the Sélect Hôtel Le Baron, in Trois-Rivières.

These 150 people had to leave their home, afraid, at night apparently, in a scene straight from hell, we were told; 150 people isolated in trois-Rivières, but who eventually were able to rely on the arrival of volunteers who, over several days, came on their own, in a spontaneous gesture, and took it upon themselves to make their stay in Trois-Rivières as pleasant as possible, the least inconvenient, and tried to comfort them.

I am going to name these volunteers, knowing that I will probably forget some of them because I am not aware of absolutely everything that went on, and I was not able to meet all those who contributed to this splendid event. I apologize beforehand for any oversight. Moreover, there are some activities I did not witness from beginning to end.

First of all, I would like to congratulate and thank the Sélectôtel Le Baron and its manager, Mr. Gilles Blais, who did a remarkable job and displayed tact, calm and patience. I also want to congratulate Gisèle Caron, who co-ordinated all volunteer work and was there for 15 days, showing determination and persistence. There is also Soula Pelletier, already mentioned, who is of Greek descent and is very well integrated into Trois-Rivières community. She was kind enough to invite me personally to meet victims and volunteers.

Nicole Blanchette was there to give personal comfort to the victims. Carol Chiasson and Réjean Normandeau, from Collège Laflèche, put their experience and their professional expertise at the disposal of the volunteer centre. They were assisted by a small group of students from the Collège Laflèche, a private school. The victims benefited from their skills and their energy.

The Trois-Rivières CLSC, managed by Laurent Paré, who came in person to the volunteer centre, sent four employees to the centre. They were Martin Foisy and Denise Brouillette, who are nurses, and France Pouliot and André Plamondon, who are social workers.

I contacted the local emergency preparedness organization and it officially recognized the Sélectôtel Le Baron as a shelter despite the fact that this was a rather unusual situation. That allowed Trois-Rivières to get involved right from the start. The city paid the meals then sent the bill to the Quebec government, as is the normal procedure. Second, it was able to proceed with the registration of people, to communicate the information to emergency preparedness, to get the cheques of $10 a day, $70 a week to people who had no money.

Then, there was the availability of buses, which allowed people to travel to Trois-Rivières, to go to a ski resort in Mont-Carmel, which offered a free day of skiing and outdoor activities, to go to the Island of Saint-Quentin, to go to the pool at the university and the cegep, all this with CITF buses. There was also the emergency preparedness organization in Trois-Rivières that provided and ensured safety for disaster victims during their stay.

There were also the Chevaliers de Colomb, who gave a considerable amount of money, which was used as petty cash, to buy little things that disaster victims needed.

There was Claude Bolduc, a professional radio host on CHLN, in our area, who volunteered almost every evening, after work, to come and emcee the shows. In the evening, there were shows at the hotel to entertain the people. He came as a volunteer. The same goes for Steve Normandin, an accordionist who organized a dance party to entertain the victims.

I want to mention that Gervais Morissette, the chief executive officer of the chronic hospital Le Trifluvien came to tell the volunteers that if they ever had no other solution than to come to the hospital for meals, he was going to offer free meals to the victims until the end of their stay among us. That clinched all our efforts.

Claudine Alarie, the political assistant to our MNA and minister, Guy Julien, had many contacts and took frequent action so that the operation could go as smoothly as possible for everyone involved.

In particular, I would like to mention the co-operation, solidarity and friendship demonstrated by the Greek community in the Mauricie region, especially in Trois-Rivières. I told you earlier that it was Soula Pelletier, originally from Greece, who contacted me to invite me to come and meet these people.

It was explained to me that people had run out of money and may have had little to eat for several days. Sometimes we have good ideas in this kind of situation. I decided to contact my friend, Kostas Dimitropoulos, president of the Greek association of the Mauricie region and owner of the Bravo Pizzeria restaurants.

I called my friend Kostas at his home around 8:30 on that Friday night. I explained the situation to him, told him about these 150 victims of the storm who had run out of money and had had little to eat for several days and I asked him and his friends in the Greek community to feed these people—we know how powerful and competent they are in the restaurant business—until the public authorities took charge of the situation. Mr. Dimitropoulos immediately asked me how many meals and at what time. The next night, a Saturday, 150 meals were delivered, and they even had more than they needed. The day after that, Sunday, once again there were meals for everybody.

On Monday, the vice-president of the association, Ilias Soilis, owner of the restaurant Le Sieur de Laviolette, opened his doors to all the nearly 100 storm victims who had accepted the invitation. He not only served them his famous buffet, but also included little treats such as beer, wine, drinks for kids, etc., all free of charge. This gesture deserves to be mentioned and praised, because it reflects the solidarity, friendship and affection between the Greek community and Quebec society, as they themselves like to point out.

This reminded me of a comment made by René Lévesque on November 15, 1976, which made a big impression on Quebeckers like me. I hope that all those who came to Trois-Rivières will have fond memories of their visit and that they had a good trip back. But to use René Lévesque's line, in such circumstances, we may be something of a great nation.

[Gurmant Grewal, Reform, Surrey Central, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the people of Surrey Central, British Columbia and all Canadians to participate in the ice storm debate.

On Monday all members of the House supported the Reform Party's motion to set aside some time today to discuss the ice storm and pay tribute to the Canadian men and women who survived it and those heroes who helped make the survival quick and effective.

I join my colleagues in the House in extending my sympathy to those 20 persons who lost their lives in the storm, to those who lost those near and dear to them, to all those who suffered pain and sorrow, to all those who suffered loss of livestock, farms and businesses, and to all those who suffered from the cold and lived without heat and water. All Canadians from the other parts of Canada were with those who suffered during this natural disaster. Let me say, we share their frustration, anger and exhaustion.

I join my colleagues in this House from all political stripes in saluting all those heroes, all those brave men and women from our armed forces, the firefighters, police and paramilitary and those in the technological services who protected life and property and restored the services in the storm hit areas. My heart goes out to them with my admiration, pride and thankfulness.

There are some people who still do not have power, heat, water and other necessities in life. They cannot watch us on their televisions. I thank them for their patience and courage. Folks, help is arriving.

I pay tribute to all the churches, hospitals and other organizations, all Canadians and our neighbours from the south who participated in helping the victims.

During the storm an old lady in my constituency of Surrey Central called my office and said that she was desperate to send help to all the victims who were suffering. That shows that people from every corner of Canada care about the people who suffered during the storm.

My younger son, Livjot, who is in grade 7 but very much a politician, watched with dismay as hydro towers and wires fell under the weight of tonnes of ice. He was so touched by the disaster that he checked with me many times to see if my staff and other people I knew in Quebec and the affected areas of Ontario were all right.

As an employer my thoughts went to all the people I knew, particularly my assistants in my House of Commons office. I phoned each of them at home to find out how they were doing and how their families were coping. I assured them that the people of Surrey Central for whom they work in Ottawa were offering their sympathy and prayers.

One of my assistants, Mrs. Dee Spiegel, reported to me that she had opened up her home to a family of five people who had lost their electricity, water and heat. She and her husband generously housed the mother, father and the little children for three days and three nights until they could return to their own home. Everyone was warm and fed.

My other assistant, Mr. Dan Wallace, though his home was not affected, reported to me that his parents who live near Perth, Ontario, were in very bad shape. My assistant was terribly concerned about his mother and father who were bravely fending off the ice storm, remaining in their home with determination, armed with only a cellular phone, a gigantic field stone fireplace and their mastiff dog.

I felt it was appropriate and I did not hesitate to assure both of my assistants that they should take whatever time they needed to do whatever they could for their families, their neighbours and their communities in dealing with the ice storm.

There are countless stories of suffering and hardship resulting from the ice storm. Many people had to work hard to save their lives, their families' lives, the lives of their livestock, their businesses and other things.

This is the first time in this parliament when members from all parties have looked through the lens of issues rather than the usual lens of their political stripes. I shall expect this trend to continue in the House.

All of us in the House should learn a lesson from the ice storm tribute today. We should strive to work together in a spirit of co-operation. It does not matter what part of the country we are from. It does not matter what ethnic background we have, what languages we speak, what religion or culture we have. We have one similarity and that is that we are all proud Canadians.

Another lesson we can learn from the ice storm is that we must be prepared for any disaster. Last year it was the floods in Manitoba and then it was the ice storm. Who knows what it will be next?

The ice storm shows us how vulnerable Canadians are to the elements of our homeland. Some parts of Canada are located on fault lines. My constituency of Surrey Central and neighbouring areas in the lower mainland and the islands are among areas prone to major earthquake. Our memories have not yet faded of the earthquakes in San Francisco and Japan.

At present, my province of British Columbia is left without emergency preparedness. It is a serious matter. Despite warnings municipalities are not ready. The provincial government is not ready. Above all, the federal Liberal government is not only but has closed CFB Chilliwack.

British Columbia is left without reasonable emergency preparedness. My constituents tell me if B.C. is abandoned or unattended by this government, scientists say a big earthquake may hit at any time. If we have not learned to believe politicians yet let us believe the scientists at least.

The nearest Canadian Armed Forces base which can provide emergency help is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Assuming that the roads and bridges will be operating, common sense can tell us how long it will take before the first help may arrive to the people who are suffering.

If the earthquake is strong, the CFB does not have the necessary logistics to airlift the supplies to be made available to those victims. What if the airstrip is not there for relief supplies to land? What will happen to those injured, buried or trapped children, women and men among fire and floods? Who will be there to hear their cries?

The government should not play political football with CFB Chilliwack or with the rescue helicopters. Closing CFB Chilliwack is clearly a political decision, not a logical one.

We should learn lessons from one suffering or one disaster and prepare for the next.

As I am about to close, I would like to bring two more quick points to the attention of the House. Let me first appreciate the kindness of all those who generously donated truckloads of wood, food and clothes to the victims. During the ice storm most Canadians were generous and helpful to each other. However, there were a few complaints that some unscrupulous businessmen were profiteering by selling gasoline, batteries, et cetera at much higher prices than normal. The Minister of Industry acknowledged this and has said that it was not illegal in Canada.

As parliamentarians we should work to prevent profiteering, at least during any disaster. I am prepared to present a private member's bill to this effect later on in the House.

I would also like to mention that another precious commodity we lack in our country that may be the most needed during any disaster is human blood. We often hear that the Red Cross is out of stock. We should be generous in donating blood and maintaining a reasonable stock of blood. Again, we have to assure Canadians and win their trust in our blood supply being safe.

I conclude my remarks by acknowledging on behalf of the people of Surrey Central the courage of our eastern country men and women in facing the ice storm. We pledge to learn from what has happened to them. We pledge to ensure that these lessons are not lost on the federal government.

Congratulations to all those who survived this disaster. I would also like to thank all those volunteers who worked tirelessly throughout this disaster.

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. McClelland)]

It being 1.24 a.m., the motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted.

This House stands adjourned until later today at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 1.24 a.m.)