Debates of June 3rd, 2025

Wildfires in Manitoba and Saskatchewan

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I want to welcome the member opposite to the chamber, and I appreciate the information she shared. It is an important time to recognize some of these facts. While we are here in an emergency debate discussing fires in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, there are fires burning in other provinces, including in Alberta. Earlier this week, a crew of firefighters in Chipewyan Lake actually lost radio contact and had to shelter in place before access was eventually restored to the community, allowing those firefighters to safely evacuate.

It is important to make sure we are sharing some of this information, so I would ask if the member has any further information to share as to how people can gain access if they have been evacuated or are at threat of being evacuated.

[Sima Acan, Liberal, Oakville West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize and thank all the first responders and members of the Canadian Armed Forces who have been working tirelessly to ensure everyone stays safe.

For the Government of Canada, the highest priority and most important matter is to keep people safe. The government is actively monitoring the wildfire situation and responding accordingly.

[Patrick Weiler, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, while the federal government has made some major investments in wildfire mitigation, whether that is investing in early observation systems, training thousands of firefighters, or, in ridings like mine, investing in firebreaks through the disaster mitigation and adaptation fund, we know that with the increasing effects of climate change, we are going to see more wildfires like this.

My question to the member here is—

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I wonder if you can clarify for me if a member can ask a question outside of their seat.

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

The rules are that during emergency debates, the normal rule that applies from the standing order that you must speak from your seat does not apply. A member can actually ask a question and speak from any seat in the House as long as they do not move during their speaking.

I will allow the member to continue with his question.

[Patrick Weiler, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question to my colleague is this: How do the increasing impacts of wildfires and the increasing impacts of climate change emphasize to her why the federal government needs to continue to take strong action to mitigate emissions?

[Sima Acan, Liberal, Oakville West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, right now, the government is focused on the immediate response and doing everything it can do to keep people safe. When the worst has passed, the disaster financial assistance arrangements program helps provinces recover from the damage and facilitate longer-term recovery.

We know the wildfire season is getting longer, and that is why preparation has never been more important. The government works closely with provinces and indigenous partners to assess and prepare. When the requests for federal assistance come in, we move quickly, and we are prepared to do so. At the end of the day, it is people's lives, livelihoods and whole communities that are on the line, and that is the reason the government will be working on helping our communities.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my hon. colleague on her election.

One of the things that we have mentioned we hear from the Liberals over and over again is about how climate change is affecting these natural disasters. Now, if that is the case, one would think that after 10 years of Liberals being in power, they would have managed to come up with systems that would take that into account, yet here we see, over and over again, fire season after fire season.

What we have seen is that Liberal government policy has impacted forest management. What does the member have to say about that?

[Sima Acan, Liberal, Oakville West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this is a new government with a new mandate. The Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience is taking a fresh look at all options to improve how we respond to natural disasters and wildfires. Nothing is off the table if it means keeping Canadians safe.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I am sharing my time with the member for Peace River—Westlock.

As this is my first opportunity to speak at length in this House following the election, I would like to thank the good people of Yorkton—Melville for placing their trust in me once again, for a fourth term. Their endorsement and their faith in me mean the world to me, and I will strive every day to ensure they are represented and championed in this place.

Today, I rise to speak about a real crisis that is affecting so many individuals, businesses and first responders in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, and northeastern B.C. Wildfires, including many in northern Saskatchewan, continue to spread, prompting evacuations in over two dozen communities and impacting air quality across our region.

Yesterday, we learned that La Ronge, along with Air Ronge and Lac La Ronge Indian Band, are facing mandatory evacuations. Approximately 8,000 residents in Saskatchewan have been relocated, with the number expected to rise as the fires continue to grow. My thoughts and my prayers are with the thousands who have been forced to leave their homes and businesses behind and who have seen loved ones lost. My thoughts and prayers are with the first responders who have been working around the clock to contain the destruction. I think of their loved ones as they are putting everything on the line for the safety of other families, neighbours and friends. How thankful we need to be to charities and community groups that exist to provide shelter and aid. Many are community heroes and are facing the same danger and uncertainty as those they are serving. These emergencies and this crisis reveal the best of Canada: communities that care for each other and make sacrifices that go so far and beyond.

For those of us who are not in the line of the fire but are dealing with heavy smoke, it can be very precarious, especially for the vulnerable. Staying inside with windows and doors closed, using an air purifier, and wearing an N95 mask if they must venture out when the air quality is poor are being recommended. If the worst-case scenario is a concern, prepare an emergency kit ahead of time, if at all possible, in case of sudden evacuation orders. Saskatchewanians are resilient and resourceful, looking out for one another, and we will get through this.

Tonight, specifically, we are debating in what ways the federal government can and should be best responding to the crisis and where it needs to do better. Canadians are not entirely at the mercy of these wildfires. While the primary responsibility for wildfire suppression rests with municipalities, provinces and territories, the federal government is not a bystander. At the same time, the federal role in wildfire response remains ill-defined, underpowered and poorly understood, not just by Canadians, but by the very provinces that are supposed to rely on it in a time of crisis. In most cases, the provinces lead, and we must respect that. However, when disaster strikes on this scale, Canadians expect their federal government to show up with real coordination, real support and real action.

However, there is currently no federal agency with the teeth, mandate or resources to coordinate equipment, aircraft or manpower. Other countries have interjurisdictional bodies that mobilize resources quickly and cut red tape. Why is it that Canada does not? Conservatives continue to call for a stronger mandate for federal emergency preparedness, not to override the provinces but to assist them to streamline response and bring order to chaos when every second counts.

Furthermore, it is time to get serious about criminal arson. The current criminal penalty for arson is 14 years in prison. In some cases, perpetrators of intentional acts of arson resulting in property damage have faced less than one year of their prison sentence. Like all aspects of this government's approach to crime, this has to change. The Liberals must establish mandatory minimum sentences to deal with individuals who deliberately endanger communities and destroy livelihoods.

It remains to be seen if the current government will truly change its ways regarding fighting climate change and natural disasters. Implementing tax after tax is not an environmental plan. Canadians are calling for targeted expenditures to reduce emissions, fight wildfires and build critical infrastructure resiliency and greater support for frontline firefighting, including labour incentives, not an inflationary carbon tax. When disaster strikes, there is no time for delay while different levels of government scramble to define their roles. Canadians deserve a plan with delineated responsibilities and a government that is focused on prevention and preparedness before disaster strikes.

We also need to recognize what the federal government should not be doing. For this, I turn to a specific example that also greatly impacted westerners not too long ago. The Jasper National Park wildfire disaster is still fresh in the minds of Canadians. The federal government holds direct responsibility for wildfire management on federal lands, including our national parks. The Liberal government ignored repeated warnings from scientists, forestry experts and local residents about the increasing wildfire risk in Jasper National Park.

The environment minister of the day was warned by foresters about the compounded threat that long-standing fire suppression, the mountain pine beetle epidemic and the warming climate posed to the region. In their own words, the likelihood of a catastrophic wildfire event was “a matter of when, not if”.

By suppressing fires over a long period of time, Parks Canada created unnatural forest conditions and a prime environment for the mountain pine beetle to thrive. Experts recommended an urgent program of prescribed burns and the removal of dead trees, which is just common sense. However, several years passed, and no significant policy changes to forest management were implemented. Every year from 2014 to 2020, the number of completed prescribed fires remained well below what was planned. In 2020, only eight of 33 planned fires were completed. Even after a sustained campaign of pressure on Parks Canada to change its approach, Jasper National Park remained much like “a powder keg waiting to blow up.”

As experts predicted, the worst-case scenario unfolded. The 2024 Jasper fire was one of Canada's most devastating natural disasters, resulting in the destruction of nearly one-third of the town, $880 million in insured losses and the displacement of over 25,000 residents and visitors. Our thoughts remain today with the town of Jasper and all those who continue to rebuild their lives in the wake of the disaster. The same will apply to those who are grieving loss with these wildfires.

It is one thing to have the benefit of hindsight when holding a government to account for its failures, but to have been given hard lessons from a catastrophic event and not act on those lessons is contemptible.

Recent conversations with the same forestry experts in Jasper do not give reason to believe that the Liberals have corrected their course, as Parks Canada continues to lack the appropriate response to effectively manage forests in national parks. Even more concerning is the role that ideology has played in forest management. It has been discovered that, under direction from this government, Parks Canada prioritized political optics over proactive, prescribed burns. The following is a quote from a senior Parks Canada director: “At what point do we make the organizational decision to cancel...prescribed burns in Western Canada? As more and more media articles raise public concern over drought conditions, public and political perception may become more important than actual prescription windows.”

In addition, ministers' answers to Conservative questions in the House repeatedly emphasized their commitment to preserving “ecological integrity” without defining what that means in practice. We now know that it meant ignoring experts and denying the science on effective forest management. The federal government has a responsibility to admit it failed and take immediate action to change its ideology, its behaviour and its lack of respect for those who are experts in forest management, preservation and conservation.

I question Parks Canada's implementation of ecological corridors, connecting the 30% and 50% of Canadian land and waterways to be protected areas by 2030 and 2050, respectively. How can it be trusted to be a steward of Canada's amazing wilderness, national parks and pristine waterways when it turns a blind eye to the basics of protecting the biodiversity of our national parks, allowing the forests, flora and amazing wildlife to be wiped out by a devastating, preventable fire for the sake of a need to alarm and take no blame for its decisions to do nothing?

Let us not allow the victims of wildfire to have to suffer and sacrifice in vain. The federal government has clear obligations to listen to scientists and industry experts on the dangers that long-standing forest management practices pose. For the sake of Jasper, my home province of Saskatchewan and Canadians across the country, we know public safety is at stake. Wildfires impart lessons that we cannot afford to ignore.

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I empathize tonight with all the members from the northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba communities that are impacted. It is unfortunate that in a time of crisis, when people are in dire need and government is working to coordinate an effective response to evacuate people, we see in this House the Conservatives try to politicize and blame the government for wildfires, which we know are fundamentally connected to the climate crisis. The frequency of these extreme weather events, including wildfires, has been increasing.

I know the member opposite has been one of the climate deniers in this House whom I have seen, time and time again, propagate all kinds of different conspiracy theories to essentially not acknowledge the science. She said that the Liberals are turning a blind eye. I think she has turned a blind eye to climate change.

Will she finally accept that climate change is real?

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I included climate warming as one of the factors in the Jasper fire and what Parks Canada needs to do. The reality is that in the majority of these fires, as was mentioned by my colleague from Winnipeg, out of 20-some fires, only four were not started by humans. Clearly, the members across the floor are exaggerating the dynamics in this particular situation, as I know is the case for northern Saskatchewan as well.

The truth of the matter is that we need to be doing more with our resources for the sake of the world. The members across the floor refuse to recognize the fact that Canada has so much it should be doing for the entire world. Climate change does not begin or end at our borders, and Liberals are missing the best opportunity possible to make a difference in the world when it comes to climate change.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that the Liberals always want to point out the causes of things as things that they cannot control, and yet a whole host of government policy has been put in place that has limited the forestry companies' abilities to manage the forest.

I wonder if the hon. member has more comments about forest management practices that she has heard about. She mentioned 30% by 2030. Are there other government policies she notes the Liberal government has put in place that limit this ability?

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, there is so much the government has done to inhibit and prevent Canada from becoming as prosperous as it should be. That is because it is limiting our abilities as a nation to extract those resources that we talk about over and over again in this place, resources that are so crucial to the economy of this country.

The truth of the matter is in everything the Liberals did in the case of the Jasper fire. I know the Liberals get really sensitive about it, which I can understand, because they have chosen not to take responsibility for decisions they made that have impacted Parks Canada and all of our parks in becoming more of a tinderbox simply because they refuse to do the right things and allow the people who know how to manage our forests to do the work they know how to do.

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

Mr. Speaker, we know that these wildfires are happening year over year over year, and there is a lack of coordination. The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs is asking that the federal government establish a national fire administration to ensure that there is sufficient subject matter expertise and coordination in these predictable and precedented crises, but they also want it to serve as a nucleus to help organize and coordinate efforts.

Does my colleague agree that the federal government should act now to finally establish this important administration that, again, has been a call to action by the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs?

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, from what I have been reading about ecological corridors and all the things the government says it is going to do, the truth of the matter is that it chooses to get consultation from its own people, who do not have the expertise. We have firefighters across this nation who are prepared to assist the government with the things that it needs to do, and it turned a blind eye.

The Liberals made a number of promises recently, in 2019, that they have not come through on, and as a result, we continue to see the fires that we are facing in this nation. They need to listen to the experts and get out of the way.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to stand and acknowledge the fire situation in this country. As this is the first time I am on my feet to give a speech in the House, I want to thank the good people of Peace River—Westlock in northern Alberta, the honey capital of Canada, the promised land, as I like to call it, for re-electing me for the fourth time and giving me a mandate in this place.

In our riding, we have forestry, farming and the oil patch, and all of that happens out in the boreal forest in northern Alberta, so the topic that we are discussing tonight is near and dear to my heart. Forest management is a thing that I have had many talks with many people about over the last number of years.

Over 4,000 people are evacuated from their homes in Alberta at the moment. I recognize that our emergency debate tonight is about the wildfires in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and I hope it was merely an oversight that Alberta was not included, given the fact that Alberta feels that it is taken for granted regularly. Once again we see that perhaps Alberta was overlooked tonight. Nonetheless, there are thousands of people displaced from their homes at the moment.

Perhaps the wildfire situation in Alberta is not mentioned because Albertans are as resilient as they are. I want to thank everybody who has stepped up across Alberta to help in this time. I know that there are evacuee registration centres across northern Alberta. When I visit these places, I am often surprised to hear that although we hear in the news that thousands of people are evacuated, the evacuation centres are only hosting hundreds of people. That is because Albertans step up in these times of need.

I have a number of stories of folks that have just reached out on Facebook. People from around Barrhead noted on Facebook that if folks needed a place to host their horses or their dogs, or to park their holiday trailer, their yard was an open place to do that and they had horse facilities available.

Eryk, Kim, Shawna and Theresah, on Facebook, offered residents of Swan Hills a place to stay and to park their trailer. Amy offered kennel spots for dogs and horses, 12 minutes outside Barrhead. People have thanked the residents and business owners in Whitecourt for helping evacuate the people in Swan Hills. Food vendors have stepped up and offered free food to folks who have been evacuated. Hotels have been hosting pets. They have supported many of the families who are struggling, particularly in the community of Whitecourt.

We noted that this was a repeated comment on Facebook about how the business community had really stepped up, and people were very proud of the community of Whitecourt. There is an organization called Mama Gray's Kitchen in Whitecourt, which was were feeding people out of the back of a pickup truck. They were basically tailgating downtown for the Swan Hills residents. They were giving out free taco bags, watermelon, ice cream cones and soft drinks.

A lady in Barrhead stopped in at Subway, and when she heard that the folks in front of her were from Swan Hills and were evacuees, she paid for their lunch. The people whose lunch was paid for recognized that on Facebook. Becki Pound was recognized on Facebook for helping Josee Bernier and her family, who had evacuated from Swan Hills. The Pembina West Co-op was donating meals to the Swan Hills evacuation centre in Whitecourt.

I would also note that church communities have been taking on dinner duties at the evacuation centres. The church communities have stepped up to volunteer to sponsor one of the meals each day at the evacuation centres. I recognize the church communities across the riding that have stepped up in this way.

Businesses have been out helping the Dene Tha’ First Nation evacuees from Chateh. Loon River First Nation was providing meals, accommodations and fuel to anybody coming by who needed those things.

Buckles & Blues in Whitecourt was giving a 20% discount on food and clothing for people who were having to buy new clothes because they were evacuated without being able to collect their clothes from their house. Global Pet Foods in Whitecourt was donating thousands of dollars to the food bank for the evacuees, and it is offering a 15% discount for any evacuees buying pet food and kitty litter. These are a number of the stories of how Albertans have stepped forward and reached out to help those being evacuated.

Now, this is not a new story. The reason we are here tonight is to debate the emergencies that the wildfires have created. When we listen to the Liberals, we hear that they do not want to talk about solutions to the wildfires; they want to talk about their perceived cause of the wildfires, and they keep mentioning that it is climate change that is causing them. I grant the premise that climate change is a contributing factor to all of the fires, but what we repeatedly hear from forest management folks is that it is the fuel load. It is the amount of old-growth forest in Canada. We have done an incredible job for over 100 years in managing our forest fires.

I remember a story that my grandfather told me. He came to Canada when he was 21 years old. He was in northern B.C. when there was a forest fire happening, and people were conscripted. He said that several times when he was in town on Main Street running errands, he was conscripted to go fight forest fires. That was in the 1950s.

Back then, this country believed in developing our resources. People believed that the trees were there to be harvested. This had been a thing throughout all of Canada's history. When the first people came from Europe to Canada, they noted the trees and harvested them to build ships, which was one of the first reasons that people came to Canada, or to “New Found Land”, as they called it. We saw that extended for a very long time. Managing the forest to promote the production of the trees and to limit forest fires to ensure that we could harvest those trees was the program of Canada for a very long time.

We have seen in recent generations that the program for Canadian forests has changed slightly. The forestry industry complains a lot about the fact that its 100-year plans are being put in jeopardy because of government programs or government policy dictated, too often, from on high, and I just want to mention a few of those things. One is the softwood lumber tariffs, which have caused instability in our ability to market our softwood lumber, and that has caused somewhat of a reduction in the allowable cut or the ability to cut. When sawmills do not make money and when they go out of business, trees no longer get harvested, which ends up resulting in a larger old-growth forest with a higher fuel load.

The Species at Risk Act came in, sterilized the landscape of human activity, and forced all industry out of particular areas, with no consideration for forest management at all. The Species at Risk Act is a noble cause to bring back species that are at risk, but forest management does not get done. We also have the 30 by 30 and our national parks program. All of these policies get laid over top of each other.

There are no solutions; there are only trade-offs, and that is the reality of life. When we layer on all of these policies and policy changes over time, when forestry companies are unable to enact their 100-year plans, and watch the forest grow old and the fuel load grow higher, they will say, yes, climate change is a real thing, but it is the fuel load that is there and they just know it is a matter of time before that forest burns.

If we do not harvest the trees, if we do not take the fuel load out of there, it is only a matter of time before the forest will burn, which has not been recognized by the Liberal government, and so here we are once again in a fire season.

[Dominique O'Rourke, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, we have to acknowledge that it is devastating for anyone who is living through these forest fires and having to evacuate their home. My heart is with the people in all areas affected by the fires.

In an emergency, people really need local, reliable information so they know where to go to get help. Can the member opposite tell us and the folks who are listening what the most reliable sources of information are if they need information in their community tonight?

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I would recommend that everybody follow their local municipality's Facebook page. In my own riding, that is generally the best place to go. Either the band office will have its own Facebook page or each community will generally have its own Facebook page. That is generally the way to be the most up to date. Also, if anyone wants to do a two-way communication, the comments section underneath is often a good place to find that.

[Billy Morin, Conservative, Edmonton Northwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is not enough that we all lend our voices to this cause, so allow me to just take a moment to thank the fire crews, the military, the Red Cross, the first responders and the community organizers across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta for their sacrifices.

Just tonight, my extended family from Chateh, Treaty 8, northern Alberta, was given an evacuation order and is well represented by the member who just spoke. Wildfires are not a material loss to first nations and indigenous communities; they are a cultural and spiritual wound. Ceremonies, seasonal gatherings and activities are cancelled. Cultural sites are destroyed. Traplines and hunting cabins are burned. Land-based learning camps are disrupted. Moose habitats are lost. Sustainability is disrupted.

Despite this, indigenous peoples have persevered over fires since time immemorial through controlled burns and forest management. Can the member discuss how indigenous peoples' knowledge and skills of forest management are critical to the long-term combatting of forest fires? Is this knowledge being utilized by the Liberal government?

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I just want to recognize the community of Chateh, and particularly Damian from there. I was able to visit Chateh during the election.

I want to also point out the community of Tallcree. It has its own wildland firefighter crew. It is contracted to the Province of Alberta, but it actually tours all around the world fighting fires. That community in particular has an aggressive back-burn, or springtime burn, program. It has protected its community by burning off the swamp grass in every direction from its particular community every spring. It is always quite shocking when I come down the hill or around the corner into there. I am thinking, “Oh, there is a devastating fire right next to the community”, but as I have gotten to know the community, I have learned that it does this every spring to take the fuel load down and protect the community, so we have a lot to learn from the folks at Tallcree.

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

Mr. Speaker, my colleague talked about the forestry industry, and I appreciate that. The sustainable harvest of biomass has been proven to reduce wildfire risk, and the Liberal government promised the biomass tax credit in the fall economic statement, as the member recalls, in 2023. However, the Liberals still have not implemented it.

The forestry sector has been calling for quick implementation of the expanded implementation of the clean economy investment tax credits to include biomass. Does my colleague agree that the government needs to urgently bring through legislation to implement those ITCs to include biomass as a tool to mitigate the wildfires that are happening in our country?

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this is exactly the type of thing I was talking about. We need to understand that the forest is an organic organism that moves, and it has been managed for over 100 years in Canada, 200 years in some places. We need to ensure that the fuel load is managed, because the fuel load is the thing that causes the fires. When the fuel load is low, we can manage the fires. When the fuel load is high, we get a never-ending cycle of wildfires.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs.

It is a true pleasure to contribute to this important debate on the wildfires in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. I truly want to thank the member for Winnipeg Centre for proposing the debate this evening. Not only is it important, but I also very much appreciate hearing the stories and the experiences of those who have been impacted, and all of those who are trying hard to resolve the issue.

I am the very proud member of Parliament for the constituency of Davenport. It is located in downtown west Toronto. While we do not have the kind of wildfires that we are now seeing in western Canada, we are also very much impacted by the wildfires. In our local newspaper in Toronto today, it said, “Wildfire smoke from Western Canada and Northwest Ontario is spreading to Toronto, causing hazy skies and potentially health hazardous air quality.”

In saying this, I know that in no way, by any stretch of the imagination, is what we are experiencing in Toronto anywhere near what is happening right now in western Canada or the impact on the many communities currently experiencing active wildfires.

I want to begin by saying a heartfelt thank you to the Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience. I want to say thanks to the Minister of Indigenous Services who spoke earlier this evening. I want to thank them for their respective leadership. I am very proud of not only their leadership, but also their quick action and their compassionate and culturally appropriate support. I am also proud of the work Canada is doing to support those impacted by the wildfires in each province.

Our thoughts are with Canadians from coast to coast to coast who are once again facing the devastating impacts of severe climate events, including the wildfires currently affecting Manitoba, Saskatchewan and surrounding regions. People have been forced to flee their homes, many from remote and northern indigenous communities. These are not abstract figures. We are talking about families and entire communities facing danger, hardship and uncertainty.

Climate events are displacing families and challenging our emergency response systems in ways Canada has not experienced until recently. I join all members of the House in expressing deep gratitude to the firefighters, first responders, volunteers and members of the Canadian Armed Forces who are working tirelessly to protect lives and communities during this incredibly challenging time. I am pleased and relieved to share that, over the weekend, the Canadian Coast Guard helicopters were deployed to support the evacuation efforts in Manitoba.

Once again, I want to thank my colleague the Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience for her leadership in coordinating the federal response to this crisis. On May 28, the province of Manitoba submitted a request for federal assistance due to wildfire impacts. The next day, on May 29, the Canadian Armed Forces mobilized up to 18 aircraft to assist and immediately begin evacuating communities at risk, particularly the Mathias Colomb first nation's approximately 3,500 residents. On May 30, the Canadian Coast Guard joined the evacuation effort and mobilized an additional two helicopters, which were operational as of June 1.

Led by Public Safety Canada, various departments, including Indigenous Services Canada, Transport Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada, and the Public Health Agency, all contributed to both the evacuation of communities and the care of the host communities to which they were relocated.

In addition, non-governmental organizations, such as the Canadian Red Cross, the Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada and St. John Ambulance, played an important and vital role, while dynamic weather and smoky conditions in the area continued to challenge evacuation efforts. From May 29 to June 2, 3,612 people were evacuated and brought to safety from Mathias Colomb, Cross Lake and Norway House.

Sadly, Canada is currently facing approximately 180 active wildfires nationally, with 72 classified as out of control. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre has arranged for out-of-province domestic and international surge support to firefighting efforts in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Nunavut.

The Canadian Coast Guard is part of the integrated whole-of-government federal response system. Our marine and air assets are deployed in coordination with other departments to maximize impact and meet the needs of Canadians. As emergency management in Canada is a shared responsibility, our systems are built on partnerships, co-operation and respect for jurisdictional roles. Provinces and territories lead in response to emergencies within their jurisdictional mandate, and the federal government supports them when the situation exceeds their capacity or when specific federal assistance is requested.

As a national government, our role is clear. We are to respond swiftly and effectively to requests for federal assistance from provinces and territories when asked and stand with Canadians in times of need. Our government has responded with urgency and a coordinated whole-of-government approach. This is not just about responding to requests for assistance or respecting jurisdictional roles, but about supporting each other as people and as Canadians. Our government is working closely with provincial authorities, indigenous leadership, local governments and non-governmental partners, such as the Canadian Red Cross, to ensure that the federal response is not only timely but also integrated and responsive to the realities our communities are confronting.

Beyond delivering its own programs, the Canadian Coast Guard plays a vital role in supporting the mandates of other federal organizations during major incidents, such as wildfires, floods and other natural disasters. As a first responder agency, it contributes air and marine resources, emergency management expertise, and humanitarian support, including assistance to community evacuations.

I will give members a few examples. In response to record snowfalls in Sydney, Nova Scotia, in February 2024, the Canadian Coast Guard cadets and helicopters swiftly acted following a request for federal assistance from the Province of Nova Scotia. Another example is when, in the summer of 2023, the Canadian Coast Guard supported the Northwest Territories in responding to the devastating wildfires threatening Hay River and Yellowknife. Finally, in the aftermath of hurricane Fiona's destruction across the Atlantic provinces in 2022, the Canadian Coast Guard was there to support Canadians in need.

In the face of climate-driven emergencies, our commitment is to not only respond and support but also adapt. Our government is working to strengthen Canada's emergency systems to meet these evolving challenges and increase our country's collective resilience as it will continue to face increasingly severe climate events. The amount and frequency of climate-related disasters has placed growing demands on the Canadian Coast Guard's response capabilities, but by leveraging investments from the oceans protection plan, the Canadian Coast Guard is amplifying its capacity through community partnerships and enhanced training and exercises.

The government also remains committed to advancing reconciliation and supporting indigenous self-determination through partnerships that enable indigenous communities to participate in marine response planning and emergency preparedness. We are building a more inclusive and resilient response system.

I would also say that interoperability is a core principle in emergency management. A cohesive response is only possible when all partners can communicate effectively, operate within compatible systems and understand each other's capabilities. That is why we continue to invest in joint training exercises, shared information platforms and harmonized response protocols.

Finally, our commitment goes beyond the current crisis. We are working to build a Canada that is not only capable of responding to today's emergency but also prepared for tomorrow's floods, storms, extreme heat and other climate-driven emergencies. This involves aligning emergency management planning with climate adaptation strategies to withstand extreme weather events and equip indigenous partners with the necessary tools to protect communities. In times of crisis, Canadians come together to show the strength of our partnerships, the depth of our compassion and the resilience that defines us as Canadians.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to have another speech delivered by a member from a Toronto area riding who is not necessarily impacted by these fires. While I appreciate her sharing the department-written speech that was prepared for her, which had some good information, she talked about a lot of things the government has committed to do but has not actually done. We have heard promise after promise, since 2021, yet we have not seen the results on the ground. We see communities that are being left to falter.

My question for the member opposite is this: When are we going to see action and not just empty promises?