Mr. Speaker, in my riding and in other ridings in B.C., local emergency officials are warning residents to be well prepared and ready for a flood or high water. If the area gets a long hot spell, a record snow fall or heavy rains, it could cause a major flood on the Fraser River.
Not to worry, some say, because the municipal dikes are built to withstand a flood equal to the devastating floods of 1894 and 1948. However, local officials have told me that due to cutbacks in funding more than 100 kilometres of dike in the valley have been poorly maintained and do not meet that standard. Much of that 100 kilometres is in my riding.
If a flood should occur, how can I assure my constituents that they will receive the emergency assistance that the military can provide so well, when the Liberal government has closed CFB Chilliwack? Will men and equipment be flown in from Alberta to Abbotsford airport which might be under water?
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Surely the government can assure British Columbians that it has done all it can to prepare for the possibility of flooding and that it is ready to provide immediate effective assistance if a flood should occur.