National Defence committee  There are only going to be more emergencies in the future. We need to explore our options. We have the expertise and knowledge in Canada for a Canadian-made solution. Emergencies are a multi-faceted problem we're dealing with. We'll need multipronged solutions. There's no quick fix or silver bullet.

National Defence committee  Retention and recruitment are critical issues in the Canadian Armed Forces and in fire management. Having a career path, proper training, incentives.... Our situation is different from Germany's. We're 30 times larger with half the population, so what works in Germany won't work here, sorry.

National Defence committee  Yes. Having a national fleet to move to the places where we expect extreme fire conditions to put the fires out when they're small would be a great help. It would have to be at the call of, or working in tandem with, the province or landowner, but it would be very effective. Europe has already ordered planes from Canadair, and they're booked up until 2029.

National Defence committee  That aspect of governance belongs to the landowners and the provinces, but, at times, they need help. That's why we talk about working hand in glove. For example, with a fire—which is the area I know about—if SOPFEU needs help, they call the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre and resources are sent.

National Defence committee  At times, municipalities, provinces and territories are overwhelmed, and they need assistance. As for the vehicle to do it, that's something for you folks to sort out, but you need an emergency management agency like a FEMA. Whether the Canadian Armed Forces fill that role or someone else, we need to build it, because there are going to be more and more of these, as we have seen, and they are only the tip of the iceberg, so to say.

National Defence committee  Sure.

National Defence committee  Mr. Chair, members of the committee, thank you for inviting me. My name is Mike Flannigan, and I am the British Columbia innovation research chair in predictive services, emergency management and fire science at Thompson Rivers University. I am honoured to be joining you today.