Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart, but also one full of pride for the amazing outpouring of community support in response to the historic flooding afflicting the residents of my riding Saint John—Rothesay and all of New Brunswick.
There are so many unsung heroes: our first responders; Saint John Energy; our mayors, Don Darling and Nancy Grant; Premier Brian Gallant; and so many others.
This is already a record-breaking flood, and thousands of Saint John-—Rothesay residents whose homes have never been at serious risk of flooding in the past are now bearing the brunt of catastrophic flood damage. For me this flood is personal. One of my best friends, Terry Ferguson, lives at ground zero. The effort to save his home is inspiring. People like Kevin Ferguson, Larry Dunlop, Gerry Foley, Shawn Ferguson, Mike Gray, Shawn Crawford, Chris Ferguson, and so many others have answered the call for help. I urge everyone in my riding to listen closely for and heed advisories issued by EMO officials in the region.
Let us stand together, be resilient, and show compassion. I will be home to help tonight.