Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador demanded answers from the government about the death of 14-year-old Burton Winters.
DND officials said first that weather was the reason that search and rescue helicopters were not deployed. However, reports obtained by the fifth estate show that the weather was well within military flying guidelines for safe flying on January 30.
The premier has a simple question that the government needs to answer instead of blaming the province. If weather was not an issue, why were the Cormorants not deployed? Were they holding them back in case there was another emergency, as one admiral has reported? Why did they fail Burton Winters?