Mr. Speaker, last week, Prince Edward Island dodged a bullet. Another hour of freezing rain would have catapulted the province into total disaster.
The response to the crisis by Maritime Electric workers, who worked around the clock, the Red Cross and volunteer fire departments, mitigated a situation that could have been much worse. They have the gratitude of all Islanders.
The P.E.I. ice storm showed the absolute necessity of having contingency plans to deal with natural disasters developed by people who know how to organize a proper response.
Something governments could do for starters would be to implement a tax credit for people to purchase gas generators so households could at least function with heat and hot food.
It is an expensive proposition to wire a home for a generator and purchase the machine. A tax credit would encourage this essential step.
Again, our gratitude goes out to all the volunteers who helped to avert a major crisis on Prince Edward Island.