Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to be able to rise and address a very important national issue.
I provided a comment in my last question about how large an issue it really is. The provinces impacted by these wildland fires, as I pointed out, are British Columbia, particularly in the northeast; Alberta; Saskatchewan; Manitoba; and northwestern Ontario. There are now estimated to be over 200 fires in total, of which virtually half, 104, are out of control. It is indeed worthwhile for us to talk about and highlight, so I am glad we have the opportunity to do so and that the Speaker made the decision to allow the debate to proceed.
I should mention that I will be splitting my time with my friend and colleague from Winnipeg South.
I want to start by putting a human face to a tragedy that took place in the Lac du Bonnet area, where Richard and Sue Nowell died as a direct result of the wildfires. They were surrounded and ultimately succumbed. All members of the House of Commons, including the Prime Minister, extend condolences to the family, as I mentioned earlier, and to their friends and the community of Lac du Bonnet, which has been severely impacted, as all Manitobans have been.
I can recall first learning about it on the radio. It really painted a picture of just how harmful these fires are. We often talk about property damages, but here we have the loss of two lives, a very tragic situation. That is why when evacuation orders and so forth are issued in certain areas throughout the land, it is really important that we respect them and evacuate the communities when we are asked to by our provincial jurisdictions.
In the last few days, I recall that my colleague, the member for St. Boniface—St. Vital, had the opportunity to ask a question regarding it last week. My colleague, the member for Winnipeg South, gave a member's statement on it today. The Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs and member for Churchill—Keewatinook Aski also addressed the issue in the House, as I have on several occasions now. It is very much a discussion that is taking place within the Manitoba caucus, as we are genuinely concerned and want to ensure that the federal government does whatever it can to support the communities being impacted, particularly the individuals being evacuated. I say that with respect to Manitoba, but obviously the same concern exists for all communities being impacted by the fires.
I had the opportunity on Sunday to visit Billy Mosienko Arena, which happens to be in Winnipeg North. It is receiving evacuees from northern Manitoba. Whether they were volunteers or others, I really appreciated what they were doing as I entered the arena. On that note, it is important that the House of Commons recognize those first responders, particularly the firefighters. As people flee the scene, as they should, firefighters go in the opposite direction, trying to get things under control. We should acknowledge what they are having to persevere in doing to try to save our communities in different ways.
When I made reference to Richard and Sue Nowell, the arena in Lac du Bonnet, from what I understand, was providing soup and sandwiches for some of the other volunteers, the RCMP officers who are watching the roads and some of the firefighters and other community members, which is what I was thinking of when I visited the Billy Mosienko Arena. When I walked in, I saw the Red Cross on one side and I believe it was the Department of Families from the Province of Manitoba on the other side. As I looked through the arena, I saw other organizations, and I thought of Khalsa Aid, which is a wonderful organization that collects money from community members and helps out in whatever way it can.
It was because of what I saw with Khalsa Aid that caused me to ask one of my Conservative friends in regard to the organizations that are out there, and there are organizations out there. Maybe there is something we can do or should be doing in working with provinces on identifying the many non-profit organizations that are out there that consistently help when a crisis surfaces. I used the example of Khalsa Aid, and I see it stepping up. Maybe there is something we can do in terms of that coordination.
In the debate we are having here this evening, a part of it is that we hope to learn something when things of this nature take place, as the minister responsible for responding to natural disasters and supporting our provinces has indicated. I believe that we will learn something from it, as we have done in the past.
In terms of humanitarian work, I can talk about the Canadian Red Cross, and we are supporting the Red Cross. There are others, such as the St. John Ambulance organization and the Salvation Army. Again, there are well-recognized Canadian institutions that are there to support the evacuees and others. Recognizing that, we can think of how we can continue to support some that we know are going to be there and look for other organizations that we know quite often do step up when natural disasters take place.
I think in terms of the Public Health Agency of Canada and how it provides support. When we talk about the needs of evacuees who come in, hopefully for shorter terms, the health agency will provide cots, blankets and pillows, among other things. I can talk about Indigenous Services Canada and how it reaches out in particular to first nations and looks at ways in which it can assist and help organize. These are the types of things in which the federal government gets directly involved.
We also have procurement that deals with watching water management. At a time of a crisis of this nature, water management is important for the dams that are out there and so forth. The Canadian Coast Guard was even participating within the province of Manitoba by contributing, I believe, one or two helicopters.
I say all of this because I really do believe that when disasters take place, there is a very strong uniting factor that brings together individuals from all across the country who will contribute, whether it is through a prayer or a financial contribution or by actually taking the time and effort to contribute in a more substantial way in terms of a physical presence. Whether it is the individuals I just listed or the many different organizations, I believe I can speak on behalf of all members in recognizing what they are doing and expressing our appreciation for the work they are doing to support evacuees, to support our local communities and to beat these wildfires.