Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Vaudreuil—Soulanges.
I want to focus on some of the short term and long term effects of this storm in my riding. I start out by saying that while Leeds—Grenville was certainly not the hardest hit, we did unfortunately have three storm related fatalities and our prayers go out to the families of those individuals.
I welcome the opportunity to participate in this evening's discussion. I recognize and commend the co-operative actions of all parties that made it possible.
I will resist the temptation to ramble on about the direct correlation between technological sophistication and human dependence. I will simply point out, however, that as a person in my riding who hooked up a bicycle to a furnace demonstrated, low technology still has its place.
Leeds—Grenville is a rural riding. Loss of power in a rural area results in not only a loss of heat and electricity but also means no water and no telephone, resulting in a situation where communication is difficult at a time when it is most critical.
I make special mention of Mr. Bruce Wylie and radio station CFJR that boosted the power of its signal and served as the primary source of information for the people of its listening area.
Particular sectors of a rural economy face specific problems. Dairy farmers who did not have back-up capacity were faced with immediate energy needs to operate automatic milking machines, to power water pumps and feed conveyors and to ventilate barns.
Interruptions of regular melting cycles can lead to long term production drops. If the delay is more than 36 hours there are serious health consequences for the animals.
The power outage also affected our capacity to process milk and a great deal of product was dumped in the early days of the storm.
Beef operations faced similar problems with water, feed and ventilation but also had the additional risks associated with calving during a power outage.
Perhaps the sector most directly affected in both the short and long term is the maple syrup industry. I do not want to dismiss the damage to plantations and orchards, but in Leeds—Grenville they seem to have fared a bit better as the trees are spaced to encourage deep root systems and short stocky crowns.
Sugar bushes felt the direct effect of the storm for a number of reasons. Historically these stands of maple trees were left in the areas of the farms that were not suited for regular crops. This resulted in access issues and low levels of topsoil. In many cases these trees were already under stress and an additional four centimetres of ice was more than they could handle.
A sugar maple tree takes anywhere from 40 to 60 years to get to a point of production. Certainly other sectors lost assets but no other sector faces these kinds of replacement issues and costs.
There is also a capacity issue. Large evaporators require large quantities of sap for quality processing. This means that reducing production may just cause further problems.
There is also a critical need for technical information concerning strategies and the implications of dealing with damaged trees. The challenge for maple syrup producers this year will be to get to the trees that can be tapped for the sap is already in the tree.
Pipeline operators will need to replace lines that are frozen in the ground and bucket operators will need help clearing trails. The challenge in subsequent years will be in the quantity of sap as reduced crowns will have a direct effect on the photosynthesis process necessary for sap production and will affect these sugar bushes for many years to come.
Another aspect of the economic impact is the fact that many of these sugar bushes had tourism components which directly and indirectly contribute to a great number of other businesses.
I recognize the efforts of Human Resources Development Canada for making moneys available for local labour market partnership agreements. I am proud the first of these that has been put in place in Leeds—Grenville is to help address the needs of maple syrup producers through the Eastern Ontario Model Forest Organization.
While the retail sector lost income, local businesses opened their doors to people by candlelight. I had a personal experience in Gananoque where a service station was giving gas on verbal credit. Larger companies freed up employees to work in shelters and continue volunteer firefighting activities. In Leeds—Grenville the co-ordinated actions of the firefighters were critical. The custom nature of their equipment did not allow for the use of replacement workers. These individuals and their families endured long hours of stressful, dangerous work.
Both time and knowledge prevent me from thanking all the volunteers, but as MPs from other affected regions have pointed out the individual acts of courage and compassion were certainly one of the silver linings to this storm cloud.
Ontario Hydro worked miracles on the operational side, but in the case of rural areas communication was a problem. They are certainly aware of this and I will not belabour the point.
Initial indications are that banks and insurance companies are being creative and flexible in providing much needed assistance. As the crisis evolved in Leeds—Grenville and areas received power, to a person, every mayor and every reeve, there was absolutely no hesitation to redirecting resources to the townships. I recognize the excellent co-operation that I experienced from both provincial and municipal politicians through the United Counties Council. The storm did more to further the cause of municipal amalgamation than any provincial regulation, and perhaps there is a valuable lesson there for legislators at all levels.
I was particularly struck by a call from a mayor from the Saguenay region. The area was sent money from the Brockville area during the flood and he wished to reciprocate.
Emergency measures twinned towns with unaffected regions, and my riding benefited directly from Kitchener and Cobourg. As the storm brought people together, the allocation of compensation has the potential to tear them apart. The need for emergency assistance in Leeds—Grenville is over. I urge the appropriate officials to take the time necessary to ensure that the long term compensation criteria and strategies are both transparent and equitable.
I am particularly concerned about the loss of employment income to families. We went to great lengths to ensure that UI and social assistance recipients were accommodated, but let us not forget that they did not miss a cheque. The real test of the value of compensation is how it will affect the small business person or the family living paycheque to paycheque. Let us ensure that they do not fall between the cracks.
In terms of federal assistance efforts my riding experienced the direct benefit of a number of agencies. The military saved lives in my riding by checking homes on a daily basis. People were reluctant to leave their homes and the military undertook these checks along with community volunteers. As a commanding officer commented, this is the 98% of the military that we have not heard about over the last five years.
The value of the reserves was also evident. The pool of talented reservists was critical. I appeal to all employers to recognize the valuable contribution they made. The local coast guard adopted a whatever it takes attitude and the men and women at the Prescott base worked around the clock. Revenue Canada put emergency measures in place at border crossings and emergency goods were flushed through the system.
Thanks to the creative efforts of customs officials at both Ogdensburg and Ivy Lea international bridges, truckers were handed maps of eastern Ontario and western Quebec showing shelter locations and drop off points.
Correctional Service Canada supplied provisions from its kitchen and also labour from off duty employees. Health Canada provided cots, blankets and stretchers for the shelters. Public Works advanced grant in lieu of taxes payments to address short term cash flow to municipalities. Agriculture Canada co-ordinated the distribution of generators and struck deals with the U.S. Food and Drug Agency to clear unpasteurized milk for processing in the United States and to relieve or waive the usual agricultural food process permits for feed coming back up. Human Resources Canada was quick to make funds available for clean up.
Much of this government involvement and certainly similar actions that occurred at both the municipal and provincial level were not always a result of policy but of action by ministers and bureaucrats who found creative strategies to meet real needs in a timely fashion.
In conclusion, while the ice storm represented nature at its worst, the response of Canadians represented humankind at its best. On behalf of the citizens of Leeds—Grenville I thank all Canadians for their support and prayers during this crisis.
