Debates of Sept. 26th, 2022

Hurricane Fiona

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member as he played a role in helping make sure tonight's debate happened.

I have a couple of things. I heard him reference this particular question earlier and I thought the problem was the 20% contribution from local government, which is another aspect here. Yes, the Government of Canada has to provide financial support, but it has to be in co-operation with different levels of government. I am not familiar with that particular case, but I can say that any time the Government of Canada can work collaboratively in supporting provinces and local governments, it is important.

My understanding of how these programs are designed to work is that the province actually sets the parameters of how we can work, but I am happy to take this conversation off-line and see what lessons can be learned.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors]

Madam Speaker, I am rising today to speak about how hurricane Fiona has impacted my home region of Atlantic Canada and how our government is supporting Atlantic Canada through what may be the worst storm we have seen in our history.

My heart goes out to the loved ones, friends and communities of those who have been lost due to this terrible storm. I want to recognize those who have lost their homes, lost their sanctuaries. They are in my thoughts and I know that all orders of government in every affected province will stand together, work together and support them and their families through this incredibly challenging time.

I also want to say respectfully that now is not the time for political games. I have heard more than a few members, some who do not normally say much about Atlantic Canada, choosing to bring hyperpartisan politics into this incredibly important discussion about the impact of hurricane Fiona on Atlantic Canadians. Now is not the time.

Now is the time, however, to work together and support those who have been affected by this brutal storm. Now is the time to recognize the incredible challenges that many residents in my home region of Atlantic Canada are facing due to this hurricane, and now is the time to show Atlantic Canadians how we can put partisan politics aside and work together on their behalf.

Atlantic Canadians are incredibly resilient. We heard many Atlantic Canadians say that tonight. We know how to prepare for storms. We batten down the hatches. We make sure we have supplies on hand, but it is clear that storms are getting more and more severe and hurricane Fiona ripped through the best-laid plans and preparations made by so many residents. I do not believe that anyone can say all of the ways that this storm has impacted Atlantic Canada yet or everything that is needed yet.

Today's debate seems premature as the winds are still strong in parts of Atlantic Canada and, as we stand here in this place, provinces are still working hard to determine just what needs to be done and how our government can best assist their efforts. However, I can say that, leading up to this storm, during the storm and now in its aftermath, our government has been there to support the provinces. We have been in constant communication with the premiers of affected provinces because when the provinces need our help, government must answer the call.

The government received requests for help from Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and P.E.I. and swiftly mobilized Canadian Armed Forces personnel and equipment to assist. I want to thank the Prime Minister, the Minister of Emergency Preparedness and the Minister of National Defence for moving faster than the speed of light. Joint task force Atlantic, the 5th Canadian Division, Canadian Rangers, the reserves, the Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft and crew, Royal Canadian Navy ships and more are all ready to support.

In my home province of Nova Scotia, the Canadian Army reconnaissance team has already been on the ground in Cape Breton viewing and evaluating damage and determining how best the military can assist. The provinces are leading the way and the Canadian Armed Forces are ready to help them with everything from bridges and roads to helping re-establish electricity. At the request of the province, as I speak, the HMCS Margaret Brooke is sailing from St. John's to conduct wellness checks in four communities on the south coast of Newfoundland, and the Canadian Armed Forces will assist on the ground in Newfoundland, working with local authorities to ensure the well-being and safety of residents in the province.

At the request of Prince Edward Island, the Canadian Armed Forces are there to help remove trees and other debris from roadways so workers can get the lights back on across that province. They will also help repair roadways, as needed. From debris removal and clearing roads to conducting flyovers to assess damage and checking in on those most vulnerable, the Canadian Armed Forces are ready to support the provinces in their efforts to help those hit hard by this brutal storm. I thank so much the Canadian Armed Forces personnel who are working hard to support Atlantic Canada and those who are on the way.

We recognized Military Family Appreciation Day earlier this week, but I want to thank the military families of those who are deployed to communities in Atlantic Canada and those who are also, as I said, on their way.

I know that military families are often forgotten, but they are so important and they deserve our gratitude. They have my gratitude. I know that many of them are in Atlantic Canada and perhaps are struggling with some of the challenges others are facing. I thank them for all they do.

I mentioned before that Atlantic Canadians are resilient, and other members across the aisle have said that as well this evening. This attitude shines through in the incredible acts of kindness that we are seeing in all of our communities. In my riding of Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, businesses like Stone Pizza and Chanoey's Pasta are giving away free hot meals to folks in need, like those without power. Others have been giving away hot coffee or providing places for folks to charge their phones.

When people see power crews arriving from outside the province, they have been cheering and thanking them for their help. People are even offering them hot drinks and snacks along the way. Neighbours with power have been setting up charging stations on their lawns, with seating and hot coffee to support people while they are charging their phones. People in my community have no power. I am one of them. My family is home today and is unable to watch this because we have no power. Of course, no one is more popular right now, as I think was mentioned earlier tonight by a member from across the way, than the gangs of chainsaw owners who are volunteering to help people with their many downed trees.

I want all Canadians who may be able to listen to these speeches tonight to know that our government is matching donations made to the Canadian Red Cross through the hurricane Fiona appeal. If people are able to donate, their donations will help those who may have lost their homes or are in need of humanitarian assistance.

I would like to end by thanking those who have been working so hard during and after the storm to help, from the first responders and volunteers to the health care workers and power crews to the helpers who are seen throughout our communities. These are people who in times of crisis do everything they can to help each other out. I thank them for all they are doing to make this terrible situation as bright as it can be.

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Madam Speaker, the member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour has, if I understand it correctly, an urban mixed riding with an important fishing community. After Dorian, within a week the federal government had supplied, in Nova Scotia, 700 soldiers to help clear the trees from the power lines, which is still the most important and major issue going on right now, at least in our province, so we can get power back. However, the government has only provided 100 currently.

Can the member comment on why there is a differentiation when the devastation is arguably just as dramatic if not worse?

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Madam Speaker, the member has one of the most beautiful ridings in all of Canada. I have spent an awful lot of time on the south shore of Nova Scotia.

The federal government responds to requests from provinces, and the provinces make requests of the federal government. The ministers that I mentioned in my speech moved at the speed of light to get those requests filled. Boots are on the ground. I cannot speak to the fluctuation of numbers, but I can say that every request that has been made of the federal government has been listened to, heard and provided.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I agree with him. I mentioned earlier that the government was well prepared, at least in the short term, this weekend to help and work with people on the ground. What worries me more is the medium- and long-term preparation.

As we heard earlier, everything is connected. The greenhouse gases emitted by the Canadian oil and gas industry are directly connected to the rising temperatures around the world, which are connected to the rising temperature of the oceans, which is causing extreme weather events. I think that we need to be prepared not only in the short term but also in the medium and long term.

Does my colleague agree that Canada needs to take action against climate change if we want to be prepared and improve things around the world? The government must stop funding the oil and gas industry and must do more to get our greenhouse gas emissions down.

Does the member agree that the government is not doing enough to prepare for the long term?

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member's riding has a long title and I wrote it down. I listened to her speech very closely, and I spoke about using politics within speeches during crises like hurricane Fiona. She made suggestions and came up with ideas, so I want to single out the member for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, because her speech was the least partisan and least political speech that I have heard this evening. I want to thank her for that.

As far as climate change action goes, she is speaking to the choir.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Madam Speaker, just to follow up on the theme of planning ahead, again, in my riding we have had serious disasters, flooding especially but also fires. One of the issues that really constrain us in responding to those is the fact that there is no available housing in my riding before there is a fire or flood. Suddenly, we may have hundreds of people who have been evacuated from their homes with nowhere to go and people who have lost homes who want to stay in the riding and there is nowhere to go.

I am wondering if the member could comment on the need for some real, serious planning ahead to get affordable housing built in Canada so that we will not have these serious constraints when it comes to a disaster.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Madam Speaker, it is no secret in the House that if we asked every member whether housing is one of the number one issues in the country, they would say it absolutely is. We need to come forward with a large amount of affordable housing. We need all types of housing stock.

That is not necessarily related to the conversation we are having tonight about the crisis in Atlantic Canada, so I want to take a quick moment, if I could, to single out a few people back home who are probably working this very moment.

The mayor of Halifax, Mike Savage, has been, day and night, at the EOC looking after the folks in HRM, and the mayor of CBRM has been astonishing throughout this crisis. I will also say that the local MLAs of all parties, the local councillors and all folks from all orders of government have been wonderful to deal with. Their first concern is taking care of those who are displaced and those who have lost their homes.

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to speak in the emergency debate on our situation in Atlantic Canada as a result of hurricane Fiona.

For those who have not been through this kind of situation, in the last 20 years of my residency on the south shore of Nova Scotia, I have seen four hurricanes and a number of tropical storms hit. Besides the storm chips that everybody buys, there are a number of routines, unfortunately, that we get into to prepare for a storm and then some once it happens.

When people live in the country on a well and septic system, there are a few things they have to do. They have to fill the bathtub with water so they can use the water to flush the toilet. They also have a generator, and if it is one of those big fancy ones, maybe it covers the whole house. However, if they are like me, they have a generator that will power the refrigerator and maybe the microwave, and it has to be filled every once in a while. One of the hazards of this job, I am finding, since this is my first term, is that my wife is at home in this situation now having to fill the generator with gas to keep it going and do all the things we have to do.

I live on St. Margarets Bay, and some members may not know it is where Peggy's Cove is. Nova Scotia Power workers came down our street today because we do not have power, as we lost it at midnight on Friday. They looked at the devastation of the trees on our street and on the power lines, including on my property. They said 11 o'clock tonight was when the power would be coming back, but then said, “Well, we're not going to fix this street today; there's too much work. This is the worst street in St. Margarets Bay. We'll be back in the next day or two. We have to replace lines and all kinds of things.”

It is a very difficult time, and the limited power affects everything, and things we do not think of. During the calls I was making in my riding on the weekend, I talked to a family whose mother had a stroke. They had to rush her to the hospital, but the hospital did not have enough power to run the MRI machine. The doctors could make assumptions and could give her medication, but they could not do all the things we would normally expect to get done in such a serious situation because the hospital was running on emergency power. I am sure my good friend, our doctor colleague from Cumberland—Colchester, saw this many times in the hospitals when he had to deal with these storms in his riding in his previous life.

The member for Kings—Hants spoke a little earlier about the impact on agriculture in his riding. In Cumberland—Colchester, we have a thriving grape-growing industry and make some of the best wine in Canada. We just got a report from one of the largest wineries that 20% of its grapes are on the ground and that because of limited power, it only has 25% power and cannot harvest the remaining grapes. This is a problem for the business this time of year, given the damage that some of the vines sustained with the wind and trees, and the processing facility challenges with the roof.

This is a flavour of what local life is like. Everyone is getting together on my street. The guys are getting the chainsaws out and helping where they can. For every guy I know, including me, if there is a chance to use a chainsaw they will and they are. However, besides the ways we band together in these kinds of crises, and what we do in Atlantic Canada and most of Canada when these things happen, there are some really difficult things.

I would like to begin by my sending my condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives in this storm, one of whom is a 73-year-old woman from Port aux Basques. There are reports of waves of, on average, 10 metres. I was phoning fishing communities on the weekend throughout Newfoundland, P.E.I., New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and the folks I spoke to in a southwest Newfoundland fishing community said that the occasional wave came in at 30 metres high, which helps explain why we see some of this devastation. We feel for the family of the woman who was lost at sea and has been found.

The member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour would know where Lower Prospect is. We found out today in my riding that one of my constituents from Lower Prospect is now missing and presumed to have been washed out to sea. They have not found him yet.

On top of that, obviously homes have been destroyed by flooding and by trees, mainly trees. The power is still out for hundreds of thousands of people in Nova Scotia alone. My understanding from the latest update is that out of 82,000 homes in Prince Edward Island, 80,000 of them still do not have power. Most of their power comes from New Brunswick.

My thoughts obviously remain with my fellow Nova Scotians and all of the Atlantic Canadians who are still reeling and dealing with this disaster.

As I mentioned in the House earlier today in question period and during my Standing Order 31 statement, hurricane Fiona was not the first hurricane to hit Atlantic Canada. As I said, I have experienced four in the last 20 years, but there have been over 30 since 1951 and quite a few before that, dating back as early as 1775, although the science on that is a little tough. There have been tropical storms and extratropical storms, and we know how to prepare for these.

I can give some examples of a couple of famous ones that happened. People close to the fishing community will know of the “gales”, as they called them, of 1926 and 1927, when over 300 fishermen were killed on the Grand Banks when two hurricanes came in. One hurricane made landfall in Yarmouth and the other one landed in Port Hawkesbury. Those were in 1926 and 1927.

Hurricane Cindy, in 1959, moved ashore in New Brunswick. There were similar ones throughout the decades that we could talk about. In 1950, hurricane Able went ashore at Goodwood in Halifax, which is also in my riding. In 1940 there was one that was called the Nova Scotia hurricane, and it went ashore in Lockeport in my riding.

We have these kinds of storms. They are growing in intensity, but we have had them for centuries in Atlantic Canada. They always bring tragedy, but Fiona was different in the sense that it was geographically larger. I was in the south shore when hurricane Juan hit in 2003. When it hit, it was intense, but it was compact and it moved fast through the region. It did a lot of devastation at midnight with a high tide and a full moon. The Halifax waterfront was destroyed. However, this one was larger and slower-moving, so the winds stayed around longer.

Hurricanes affect the ocean in two ways, in waves of surges. One is when the power actually moves the water and then another is when the wind also pushes the waves. It is sort of a double impact that happens. When it is more sustained over a period of time like that, there are more intense waves, which is what happened with Fiona.

I would also like to reiterate our leader's comments from earlier today when he asked the Prime Minister how we, as opposition members, can best support Atlantic Canadians who are in dire need right now. Everyone—not only in this House, but all Canadians—can help us, and I must express my gratitude to the federal government for its constant communication with opposition MPs and its rapid response to requests for military assistance.

I would also like to thank the municipal leaders in my community whom I have spoken to. They have done diligent work in communicating over the past few days with me and also with their residents about how to be prepared and what to do afterward in providing services to our residents. We can all get better results from our constituents when we work together with open lines of communication.

In times like this, we depend on the power workers, who work around the clock to restore operations as quickly as possible. Never before have we seen this many downed power lines posing a threat to workers and the public. It could be weeks before some of the Nova Scotia Power workers get a full eight hours' sleep, I suspect, and we owe them our thanks.

On top of that, we are welcoming more than 300 power workers from other provinces and even, as we heard earlier, power workers from New England. It is is our tradition in Atlantic Canada of supporting New England and of New England supporting us in times of crisis. Atlantic Canadians have a reputation of helping out our friends in need, and we always get that same treatment from other parts of the country.

Additionally, I want to extend my appreciation to the police, paramedics, firefighters, the Coast Guard and members of our armed forces for everything they are doing to keep our communities safe and to try to help us rebuild.

In typical Maritime fashion, the community is coming together in light of the disaster. Warming centres and evacuation shelters are being staffed and supplied by generous donations. Nova Scotians are tough, and the character of our communities is most present in times of tragedies such as this.

As we start to rebuild, I know the resolve Nova Scotians and Atlantic Canadians have will not be diminished. I have been impressed with many groups and organizations that have swiftly begun assessing the damages of the storm. In Atlantic Canada, that includes industry groups representing many of our farmers, fishers and forestry workers, all of whom are reeling from the damage.

Of course, in coastal communities in Atlantic Canada, big storms always pose a threat to our wharfs and small craft harbours. I heard reports from constituents and people in coastal communities around the region about the extent of the damage they have witnessed at wharfs. I have talked to mayors in Newfoundland, ministers in P.E.I. and fishing associations in New Brunswick to understand the early assessment. A lot of those groups are really only getting on the water now and getting out to see the extent of the damage to the wharfs, the fishing gear and the farms because it is relatively safe to do so now, bar running into downed power lines.

As well, I spoke over the weekend and today with the Maritime Fishermen's Union, the FFAW-Unifor in Newfoundland and the PEI Fishermen's Association in my capacity as shadow minister for fisheries. They have conveyed to me that the situation in southwest New Brunswick is serious and that the north shore wharfs in P.E.I. have had major damage. As well, we have seen the destruction in southwest Newfoundland, which is complete and devastating.

I have had reports from fishermen in P.E.I. that they hauled their boats in preparation for the storm, and when they went to see their boats, they were not there anymore. I have had fishermen tell me that the shed where they store their halibut gear and lobster gear is completely gone. I know New Brunswick fishermen were out in the water today, and will be tomorrow, trying to find the lobster gear they left in the water in the fishing areas. That will be a big challenge.

David Sansom, president of the Red Head Harbour Authority in P.E.I., said:

Our lower wharf, the tide bumped so high, it pulled it right out and destroyed that. And our east wharf this evening, the tide came up and lifted it right out of where it's secured.

He continued:

Just everything is loose and everything is unusable at this point.

On top of that, gear has been lost, and some fishers will lose out on days, if not weeks, of fishing due to the infrastructure damage. They may even lose a season. The P.E.l. summer lobster season is ongoing, as is New Brunswick's, but as we await the assessment of damaged wharfs, it looks like some fishermen may not get back out this season. They have three weeks left in the season.

That is why the fisheries minister must take a serious look at extending the seasons in those communities and keep in mind the severe financial setback the hurricane is causing fishing families. The Department of Fisheries must also immediately begin to prepare plans to repair wharfs under its jurisdiction and expedite permits to get vessels back at the docks as quickly as possible.

FFAW-Unifor, which represents many inshore fishers in Newfoundland, issued a news release this morning on the situation in southern Newfoundland. I will read the brief release it put out this morning, which reads:

Professional fish harvesters on the southwest coast of the province are left reeling after post-tropical storm Fiona made landfall in the area on Friday and Saturday. The damage left in Fiona’s wake has impacted multiple enterprises, leaving significant damage to gear, boats, motors, and sheds. FFAW-Unifor is seeking financial support from federal and provincial governments to assist these inshore harvesters in their rebuilding efforts.

“The damage from Fiona has been felt in particular by folks located between La Poile and Port aux Basques. Some inshore harvesters have lost all their gear, motors, boats, and sheds – just washed away with the storm. As small-scale operators, they have no financial recourse through traditional insurance channels and we are therefore asking for financial relief from our federal and provincial governments,” explains FFAW-Unifor Secretary-Treasurer, Jason Spingle.

“Support following hurricanes and tropical storms has been provided to inshore harvesters in the past, and we expect that Fiona will be no different. These fish harvesters will require financial help to replace their lost investment in order to resume fishing next season,” Spingle says.

Harvesters in this region rely mainly on lobster and halibut as their primary, and in many cases, sole source of income. Rebuilding infrastructure and replacing lost gear and other equipment will be paramount to the region’s ability to rebound from Fiona’s destruction.

In the immediate-term, FFAW-Unifor is communicating with members on the ground to continue to assess the full impact of damage, and to ensure our members and their families have their basic needs met in the coming days and weeks. The Union will also be approving a donation to the Canadian Red Cross via the Executive Board as soon as possible....

“Recovery on the southwest coast will certainly not happen overnight and we acknowledge that there is significant work to do. What our members need now is commitment from our elected officials that support will be given to the inshore harvesters that need it. Without that commitment, their livelihoods will be lost,” concludes Spingle.

From our perspective, as the official opposition, we are advocating that support.

Commercial fishing organizations and their members and those who manage port authorities are doing an inventory of the wharves damaged in the hurricane. Some concerns that have been expressed to me by port authorities are that under normal situations, the federal government cost-shares repair work with port authority revenue through small craft harbours funding. The concern now is that many port authorities do not have their share of funds to pay half the cost of repairing the damage, and in some cases replacing a destroyed wharf. They will be looking to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard to provide sole-source funding from small craft harbours to pay 100% of reconstruction costs to help these port authorities bring back infrastructure to proper safety and operating standards.

As the fisheries minister is aware, but perhaps not everyone in this House is, there are a number of active fisheries that are open currently, and many fishers are attempting to assess damaged and lost gear. The fishing organizations I have spoken to want to know up front if the financial aid will be there.

The Minister of Fisheries is well aware that the fall lobster fishery in LFA25, between New Brunswick and southwestern P.E.I., is open. The season is short and is almost over, but the loss of these few days has had a big impact. As we asked in the House today, we are asking for the minister to extend the season so that they can complete it. I will ask the government again tonight if it will consider extending that season.

As I said in the House earlier today, our small craft harbours are the Trans-Canada Highway of our oceans, and without them, boats cannot get on the water, which means seafood cannot be caught, which means there is less Canadian product on supermarket shelves and less income for our coastal communities.

The men and women on the sea who feed us deserve a government that will remove the bureaucracy, cut up the red tape and get our wharves functioning again. These commitments from the government are serious and must be upheld.

In light of the situation, we as legislators must come together, listen to what is needed on the ground, and deliver quickly to Atlantic Canada what they need to recover from this hurricane in a time that would allow people to resume their ability to earn an income and support their families.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for the great speech this evening and express condolences to his community and everybody across Atlantic Canada, throughout the Maritimes as well as in Quebec, and to all those who have been impacted by this tragic storm.

Like many members of this House, I have spent a lot of time in Nova Scotia. My brother was born there. We lived in Dartmouth for a couple of years. That is why I get to sit next to this fine fellow. I got to visit this summer as well. A lot of Canadians, and certainly people back in my riding, feel very disconnected from the storm, and they want to know what they can do.

Our government has set up a matching program through the Canadian Red Cross, an organization that has demonstrated the ability to distribute funds to community-level organizations quite effectively. What would the hon. member suggest that I could pass along to my constituents so that they could be helpful in this “build back better” plan for all Nova Scotians and Atlantic Canadians?

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for the offer and the kind words. I am sure he must have spent a great deal of time on Lake Banook, given his past life and previous success.

The Red Cross obviously is a great initiative the government has set up. I am sure there will be more charities coming through in the next few days that will be looking to help. I hope the government would consider matching funds for those as well.

The hon. member has family there, and what matters most is that when people know somebody in Atlantic Canada, they should just reach out to them and call them to let them know they are thinking about them and to ask what they can do as a friend or a family member to help them out. We tend to feel isolated in a situation where people are not going through their normal routines anymore, so for all those watching, if they have friends and family in Nova Scotia, and I am sure many people have already reached out, they should try to do that as much as they can over the coming weeks.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Speaker, storms like last weekend's will irrevocably change the shoreline and fishing harbours. The wharves have been displaced and are stuck on the shoreline.

For years the Bloc Québécois has been calling for more investments in research on countering the effects of waves on shorelines and on shoreline remediation.

Does my colleague also believe that we must put more money into protecting our shorelines from such storms and, at the same time, protect our wharves, ports and fishers?

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Madam Speaker, I think there are some strong methods already. I know that, on the point where I live on the ocean, half of the homeowners have used this technology and it has worked. The other half of the homeowners, on the other side, have not used it and the shoreline is eroding.

Regarding the harbours themselves, where the commercial operations take place, we need to have much more investment in those harbours. We already have probably in the neighbourhood of $3 billion to $4 billion required to bring the wharves up to standard across Canada. That does not include making the breakwalls and everything else that needs to be done in order to make them a little higher because the seas are a little higher, the storms are a little stronger and the boats are a little bigger. All of those things are contributing to the exposure of those fishing communities to the storms that we are receiving.

I would agree with anything we can do to figure out erosion, but Mother Nature is Mother Nature and it is pretty hard to win a battle against the ocean with artificial means. The ocean will take things away, unfortunately, so planning where one puts one's house and how one builds those breakwalls is very important.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, first, I also want to send my condolences to the people in Atlantic Canada, and I want to thank my colleague. I know he is very passionate about his home community, where I have family as well. We talk quite often about fisheries and the importance of fisheries.

I want to focus my question around first responders and the Canadian military. We have members of the CAF who are there, on the ground. They are constantly being deployed, whether it be to the flooding in British Columbia or forest fires. There was a story today stating that the CAF is short one in 10 positions right now, out of the 100,000 positions it has. I ran into a man the other day. He was so proud of his son, who is a paramedic in the military. He said his son is going to leave the military because of the wages. It is not like the old days, when people could save enough money, buy a house and put some money aside. Housing is out of touch with the state of inflation. He wants to stay in the military, but he is thinking about leaving.

Maybe my colleague could talk about the need to redesign the military to tackle the climate crisis and to ensure that we look after the people who are serving our country. Their roles are changing. Maybe he could speak about the importance of ensuring that we have not just military personnel, but equipment that can respond to climate emergencies.

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Madam Speaker, I know the member for Courtenay—Alberni is passionate about the fishery as well, having served for many years very effectively on the fisheries committee, and he has relatives in Atlantic Canada. That is a great thing about Atlantic Canadians; we are everywhere. We are in Alberta. We are everywhere. We have connections across the country where we have gone to find work.

In terms of the role of the military, we are lucky that we have the military we have to respond to these kinds of crises and to help out. However, the primary reason people join the military, and my nephew is in the navy, is to go on deployment and not just be here in terms of supporting disaster relief. They primarily want to go out and defend democracy and freedom around the world where dictatorships and other people are trampling on human rights, as we are seeing now with Russia in Ukraine, and they are proud of that.

What frustrates them is that we do not make the investments in the military to provide them the equipment. It is a bit of a “chicken and egg”. Why would someone join the air force in Canada to fly fighter jets when we cannot seem to make decisions to actually buy any, and the ones we are flying now were purchased by Pierre Trudeau when some members of this House were not even alive?

The focus on investment in the operational needs internationally is the primary role for which somebody joins the military. If we are operationally ready and we have the resources here to help out in disasters, then that is an added bonus. Right now most people would be attracted to go into the military if we were properly equipping it.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Madam Speaker, I am really grateful to the Conservative Party that the hon. member for South Shore—St. Margarets got a whole 20 minutes, because that means the time for questions and answers lasts for 10 minutes.

The hon. member is a friend and we have been texting each other all day because I am both a British Columbia MP and a Cape Bretoner. I remember hurricanes that we used to have in Atlantic Canada, and the hon. member and I have been back and forth on the question of this storm being supercharged by climate change.

I will never forget hurricane Juan in 2003, because my mom had died in late August of that year. The hurricane was so soon thereafter, I always relate them in my head. I was in Cape Breton. The storm was off the charts, which I do not need to tell my colleague or anyone in this place. Because I am a climate activist, I went digging in to see what happened with Juan. It was the first time we had had a full-fledged tropical hurricane-force, full-force category 2 hit our shores. We have had hurricanes, just as the hon. member has said, but they tend to have weakened. With hurricane Juan, the forecasters, as I recall, thought the hurricane would lose force because it would come over the cold water south of Nova Scotia and slow down. We would have a bad storm for sure, with high winds and lots of rain, but hurricane Juan was different, as was Dorian and now, boy, Fiona. Fiona hit Canada with the lowest barometric pressure of any storm ever.

One thing I want to say to my hon. friend is a cautionary tale from a British Columbian: It has been more than a year since the fires and the heat domes and the floods of last year. People in B.C. are still waiting for help, so we will hear good words now but we are going to have to stay on it. Therefore, I want to give the member my word that I will do anything I can for all of our colleagues and friends and cousins and my brother and sister-in-law who are in Cape Breton. We have to get help to everybody, as we do to his friend, the member of Parliament for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon. The people from Lytton are still waiting.

How do we seize this moment of commonality to actually sit down and dissect the science that says this is just going to get worse and worse until we turn off the tap on fossil fuels?

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Madam Speaker, the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands and I have known each other for a long time. We have great discussions and I appreciate her intervention.

Hurricanes have happened with different intensity. In 1975, hurricane Blanche landed in Nova Scotia, and hurricane Hortense, in 1996, came directly into Nova Scotia. There are others that came in before that. They follow the gulf stream and the gulf stream comes in and out, so it has that impact.

I would love to carry on the conversation on it with the member later, since I am out of time.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries]

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Sydney—Victoria.

I rise this evening to share with the House and all Canadians the brutal and devastating impacts of hurricane Fiona. For many and, in particular, my own constituents in Cape Breton—Canso, my neighbours, family and friends, this represents an unprecedented moment in the lives of all the residents in my riding.

It clearly is one of the largest weather events to happen in our community, and certainly one of the most destructive. Homes, schools and entire communities, which, just last week, were thriving, are now, many of them, unrecognizable, with fallen trees, downed wires and debris across our communities. It really is an unimaginable reality, which I have seen with my own eyes as I look around my riding during the aftermath of this storm.

I want to share a story of Glace Bay, my hometown, where I was born and raised. There is an area called No. 2, and it is called No. 2 because it was named after colliery No. 2, the mine colliery. There are great people in that area, and the Hub of Glace Bay.

There are so many roofs that are off company homes in those areas. In fact, one roof came off a home and was found three streets over, in an individual's backyard. The force and the devastation of the storm cannot be overstated.

Nevertheless, there remains one thing, as I want to tell my colleagues and Canadians watching, that is untouched by the storm, and that is the resiliency of people in Cape Breton and northeastern Nova Scotia. For every instance of destruction that I saw, there has been an instance of unity. Neighbours are helping neighbours. We have heard that today. Family members are helping family members, and even strangers, with gestures that are small and quite large, from offering others a safe place to sleep to leaving their own supplies on the porches for people just to take. These are examples of the goodwill that is on full display on the east coast.

I would like to share some of the generosity I have seen over the past few days, like that of Margaret Kuchma. I met Margaret last summer and she quickly became an extension of what I like to call “team Kelloway”. Margaret thinks about our community all the time, before herself, in fact. In particular, she takes care of everyone in the community called No. 11, another example of a community named after a colliery, colliery No. 11. That is a neighbourhood in Glace Bay. On Sunday, following the storm, Margaret ran her generator, fed dozens of people out of her home, and shared her power with those who needed to charge their device or their laptop, or just needed a hot cup of coffee.

Like Margaret, in the aftermath of the hurricane, the administrators and the officer cadets at the Canadian Coast Guard College in Westmount, Nova Scotia, opened their doors to the community. I was there today. Cadets were helping people who had been taken out of their homes, providing lodging, providing support and providing food. What great leadership. What great servant leadership. They are an example.

The staff and the officer cadets were there for the community. I want to highlight that they were there for 40 families that were displaced and are now staying at the campus until they return home. They are providing folks a hot cup of coffee, a shower, or the ability just to collect their thoughts and to think about the devastation but, more or less, to be with people, even strangers, just to commiserate on how lucky they have been during the storm, even with the challenges before them.

I know that most people know this, but I am proud to be a resident of Cape Breton, northeastern Nova Scotia. This is a community that has proven itself to be self-sustaining and brave of heart, even when times are tough.

I have said it before and I will say it again. My dad was in charge of mine rescue. He was a trainer and a mentor to those who went underground to save individuals' lives. My dad was a man of few words, but he would always say to me, “Crisis reveals character.”

Over the past two days in my travels throughout the riding, my heart really has been filled by the kindness and generosity of folks in the communities that I serve. Despite our resiliency, we have been able to do only so much to get ourselves through the last 48 hours. Lucky for us we have not had to go that far to see leadership.

I want to take a moment to thank the countless first responders who came to the aid of my constituents. It has been said here tonight but it bears repeating that our local police, fire departments, emergency medical services and their dispatchers have worked tremendously hard to answer all the calls of those in need. There is no doubt in my mind that many are safe today because of them.

Bear in mind that in Cape Breton—Canso there has not been, up until I speak here tonight, any major injuries or loss of life. It is because of those people. It is because of the work of the provincial government and the federal government working together with municipalities, first nations communities and towns to prepare us for the devastation that came toward us.

I want to go back to the Coast Guard for a moment. Our Coast Guard has responded to reports of sunken and grounded vessels. It remains ready to confront any pollutant or other hazard to marine life.

I want also to highlight our Canadian Armed Forces. They have been on the ground here in Cape Breton. They were in the air and at sea in order to provide everything in terms of human resources, equipment and military assets. I would like to thank the CAF members of the 5th Canadian Division specifically, who have been quite literally at our side as we cope with the damage to our communities.

Our municipal and provincial officials and authorities have also played an integral role in the response, which has thus proven to be successful. I know there is a long way to go, but slowly and steadily we are seeing services being restored to communities that have been without power since the storm hit.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my federal colleagues for their outstanding leadership during this time of need. In particular, I thank the Minister of Emergency Preparedness and the Minister of National Defence for their time and effort, which I know has benefited our communities to a great extent. I would also like to thank members of the opposition who reached out to me to check in and see how my citizens were. I thank them for that. It says a lot about their character and who they are as people.

I would like to remind Canadians and colleagues in this House that climate change exists. There was a gentleman in one of the warming stations who said, “I believed in climate change before, but it is pretty much cemented now that I believe it even more.”

Finally, I would like to thank my constituents for their bravery and their endurance. The people of Cape Breton—Canso have risen to the occasion in the face of yet another challenge. Whether it be in the capacity of a community leader, a health care professional, a technician or a store clerk, they have all played a pivotal role in helping one another. That is going to continue.

The success amid this incident, this storm, this really catastrophic event, and the responses at all levels of government would not be what they are today without the kindness, compassion and hard work coming from within the areas that are hardest hit. To the incredible people at home who I am privileged to serve in this chamber, and I am privileged to serve them, I express my profound gratitude.

Mr. Speaker, I think you will know this. Back home, there is a familiar tune and the lyrics contain the words “we rise again”. In this moment, those words represent the ethos of my constituency and all Atlantic Canadians. It is the people who weathered the storm. In light of all that has taken place, I say this with gratitude and absolute confidence to the people of Cape Breton and northeastern Nova Scotia, as the song goes, we will rise again.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

I thank the member, my friend from Cape Breton—Canso, for not singing the song, even though the song is wonderful and the sentiment is wonderful as well.

Questions and comments, the hon. member for South Shore—St. Margarets.

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, my fellow Nova Scotian, is in a riding that is one of the hardest-hit places in our province. It is devastating. He represents some very important fishing communities around Cape Breton. Obviously, all Nova Scotians are concerned with what is going on in the northern part of our province and Cape Breton in particular.

I want to take this opportunity, because he is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, to see if he would speak on behalf of the government and make the commitment here that the government will quickly speed up the repairs of wharf infrastructure without bureaucracy, without the application processes we normally have. Will the government get the work done quickly so that our fishermen and people who depend on the fishery can get to work when the seasons open?

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to serve on the fisheries committee with the member opposite.

I will say that we have made some substantial investments in small craft harbours, because they are the economic hubs of Atlantic Canada. In terms of damage to and repair of small craft harbours, it is up to us to collectively work together. It is up to this government to make investments where they are necessary in small craft harbours, to buttress them and to strengthen them. We have done that since 2015 with investments in small craft harbours, with an additional $300 million next year, but make no mistake about it: there will be a changing environment. Environmental crises require us to do a deeper dive to ensure that we strengthen those resources that provide so much to Atlantic Canadians, and dare I say, to all Canadians.

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, people on the east coast are suffering, and I was glad to hear comments from all members in this House committing to supporting Atlantic Canadians in the coming weeks.

I also want us to start thinking about the future. These extreme weather events are happening more frequently and with more severity. I am concerned that the disaster mitigation and adaptation fund right now is completely inadequate. It does not come close to meeting the needs of communities and municipalities that need to fix critical infrastructure and build resilience in the face of climate disaster.

Will the member commit to pushing his government to ensure that this fund is adequate to meet the needs of this changing climate?

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the fund the member speaks of helps a tremendous number of groups, communities and municipalities, but what we need to do is act collectively. This is another important moment in time where we look at the fact that this is not just a once-in-a-blue-moon storm. These storms are happening on the east coast on a regular basis. Maybe it was not as strong as Fiona, but five years ago we had a very catastrophic flooding event in Cape Breton that was supposed to occur once in a century. They are repeating more and more.

This government is committed to ensuring that we react and, more importantly, respond in the right way. There is that fund and other funds, such as the oceans protection plan, which has about $9 million invested in it.

There are opportunities to work within departments and work with levels of government to ensure we put the right investments in place, but I could not agree more that we need to continuously up our game when it comes to protecting communities, economic development, social development and the environment.

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as this is the first time on my feet since hurricane Fiona made landfall 72 hours ago, I want to make sure that all members in the communities that were affected know that our hearts are with them.

I want to say to Quebeckers affected by the hurricane that we are there for them.

I have a son posted in Gagetown, and my older son actually deployed as part of Operation Lentus back in 2019 in response to the flooding. Our colleague from Cape Breton—Canso talked about Canadian Armed Forces members who were on the ground immediately to help with removing debris and assisting with connectivity issues for electricity and so on.

Could the member elaborate a bit on what he is forecasting with respect to medium-term needs? What does he anticipate might be needed on the ground in supporting the Canadian Armed Forces?

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, quite frankly, it is around helping to restore power and with respect to that, as well as clearing trees, lights and other debris from homes and businesses. We are looking forward to CAF members' presence here, and as the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence have said, they will be here until the job gets done.