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?