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.