Thank you for listening to Depiction's Media Radio. Welcome to Policy Rights to show
about government policy and human rights. Welcome back to Policy Rights here in Depictions
Media Radio. I'm your host, Michael Cloggs. You know, you would
think that UM elected officials would do anything to ensure the fact that elections and
election results reflect what it is that the people of the country believe in,
and that they would ensure that there are no secret ways or stops that would
make it so that the person that was or the people who are being elected
aren't just done by way of party, but done by way of individual and
what that individual stands for. So is that the the thing that happens when
we look at the first past the post system that is being used in Canada
and it gets used across Canada and just about every province every election that is
held, that it is a first past to post system or should it be
a different system. And we're going to hear Justin Trudeau talking about a ranked
balance system as he's asked questions about that. You're still being asked UM questions
around foreign interference. We just talked about ensuring that the votes are coming out.
So this clear clearly reflecting what it is that the people of the democracy
want. Then how is it that a whole other country and their government could
possibly have an influence on that election if, like I said, if people
are doing the jobs that they say that they're doing to ensure the safeguard of
the elections, to make sure that it's only being influenced by the people who
vote in that country, that municipality, that province or state as it were.
So there's a lot of questions around that and a lot of it being
asked suggestion to do. It's like, what is going on in how these
safeguards are actually being put in place so that we know that only the influence
of only the people of the land are involved in those elections. So,
um, we're also gonna we have a brief recording UM from Justin Trudeau as
he is talking about the wildfire situation situation in Alberta. Um, well,
we are we exist in British Columbia. Yes, there are um currently about
sixty two fires in British Columbia that are raging out of control. But it
isn't the situation that that we had that totally destroyed the town of Lytton,
BC and as it stands right now that in a particular area of Alberta,
they are looking at that same situation that we had years ago, UM that
destroyed a town, just flattened it. So Justin Trudeau has made a number
of promises and the people of Alberta are calling out for help UM with the
wildfires, asking for fire assistance and Red Cross help as well as monetary assistance
to ensure that the people of towns and areas that are being evacuated are taken
care of, that they are kept whole, that founilies are able to stay
together during the whole evacuation process. So it's a lot of what what is
happening UM and if they we're going to hear about in this next particular podcast
episode. So why don't we UM switch over to that now and and listen
to as as we hear Justin Trudeau talking about the electoral system, he's talking
about the death of Mark Lalande, and he will also be talking about,
well everybody else is talking about it, the coronation of Charles the third morning.
Everyone, Before we begin, I want to highlight that we have been
of course monitoring closely the situation with wildfires and floods in Alberta, BC and
Quebec. Obviously, this federal government stands by to support, to help in
any way possible, and we encourage everyone to listen to the best advice of
local authorities and keep safe through this difficult time. If demos you come,
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pleasure to be back in London in this historic moment of the coronation of King
Charles the Third. We have announced today new coins, a new stamp,
a new crown, a new flag, um opportunities to update this important moment
in Canadian history with our new monarch. But as we have been looking towards
the past and reflecting on the traditions and strength of history that underpins Canada's incredibly
strong democracy, we're also very much focused on the future. The conversations I've
had with His Majesty and that he's had with indigenous leaders, the Governor General
and Canadians are all very much focused on the future, whether it's on protecting
and preserving the environment, or whether it's moving forward in new partnership with indigenous
peoples, in understanding of the respect and path forward that we need to take.
This is an important, important moment to reflect not as much on our
past as it is on the future we're building together. This was also an
opportunity for me to meet with lots of Canadians who were here, from the
young members of our delegation to extraordinary Canadians who have demonstrated their service and their
commitments to our country in many different ways, as well as connect with friends
and allies from around the world, particularly with excellent conversations with the prime ministers
of the UK, Australia and New Zealand, as well as other partners from
Africa, the Caribbean and elsewhere where. We share common values and common challenges
and are committed to working together to build a better future for all who live,
not just in the Commonwealth but everywhere around the world. La Coron Britannique
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lai A good morning, Prime Minister Joyce snap yours CTV. Thank you for
taking our questions. For months, the opposition parties have been asking you questions
about foreign interference and they're not buying your answers. Why is the issue still
dogging you months in well, I think there is a recognition, as there
has been recognition by this government that foreign interference is a serious, serious thing
that we have to be acting and engaging with on a constant manner. Since
twenty fifteen, we've stepped up a number of processes, whether it's an oversight
committee by parliamentarians, whether it's an election monitoring process by top public safety and
security officials, as we went through the twenty nineteen twenty one elections to confirm
that we're able to confirm that those elections integrity held. But we also know
that there is more to do. And that's why, because unfortunately it has
become very much a partisan discussion, it was important that we brought in an
independent expert in the former Governor General to surveil to look at the entire landscape
of everything we're doing on foreign interference and make concrete recommendations and an assessment of
how we're doing or what we can do more. Unfortunately, the partisanship of
this is clear for all, but Canadians need to know that we all take
this seriously and despite the despite the work that the opposition parties are doing to
ask these questions, we're going to continue to be giving them answers. Your
Foreign Affairs minister says there are consequences for evicting a diplomat who reportedly threatened an
MP and his family. Can you give us one example of what those consequences
could be for Canada. The relationship with China, as we've seen over the
past number of years, has been not without very real challenges, whether it's
around arbitrary detention, whether it's around challenges to Canada's trade. When thinks of
pork, when thinks of Canola, one thinks of various various real consequences that
Canada and other countries around the world have faced in various situations. Um,
there are things to consider around this. But at the same time, Canada
will never shy away from standing up from our values for ensuring that our laws
are respected. And that's why the Foreign minister is taking these questions so seriously.
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point. Okay, I can tell you that on a regular basis, I
am captor prized by our intelligence services on threats the Canadians, which include threats
to institutions, threats to our democracy, but also threats to individuals, including
sometimes political actors. But I can assure you that whenever we get information that
requires follow up or actions, either by the political arm or the intelligence services,
we ensure that those actions are taken. Good morning, pritment is The
Governor General recently said that Canadians have never really felt Bradings, have never really
felt great affection for King Charles, and that he has more to do to
develop the relationship with our country. Is that your assessment of things? And
do you think that the King really has to do more to improve his standing
among Canadians. Obviously it is natural that Canadians had such an extraordinary and deep
affection for her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, who was an extraordinary piece of
of history, the living history that followed us throughout our lives. She was
a constant, enduring presence for Canadians and for people around the world, and
obviously she leaves extraordinary legacy and a challenge for anyone who steps into the important
role as monarch. At the same time, I have known his Majesty now
for decades as a as an environmentalist, as someone who has been deeply committed
to protecting and preserving nature, as someone who has shown a remarkable openness to
understanding the challenges of the colonial history that the Crown has been wrapped up in
in Canada, particularly around reconciliation. The work that he has done in reaching
out to Indigenous leaders over the past number of years and including again this week,
I think shows that he is deeply aligned with some of the really fundamental
priorities of Canadians. Obviously, we will have many, many years in which
Canadians will get to know his approach and his deep commitment to service, which
includes leadership on environment and reconciliation issues. And I'm looking forward to, alongside
Canadians getting to continue to work with him on big things that affect not just
Canada, but the planet. Okay, on the Michael Chong matter, why
is it taking so long to decide whether to expel a Chinese diplomat? I
thinks, as you know, this is a serious and significant question. It's
a question of moving forward in a way that represents our values and ensures that
we're enforcing our laws while at the same time ensuring that we're keeping Canadians safe
and prosperous. This is a decision not to be taken lightly, and the
Foreign Minister is leaning into this very, very carefully. Morgan Lowry, Canadian
Press Minister Mendocino said yesterday that your government is considering whether to hold someone accountable
for the decision not to let any cabinet minister know about intelligence regarding the threats
against mister Chong and his family. Have you spoken to former National Security Advisor
Vince Rigby about why he didn't elevate this information Our Foreign our sorry, our
security, security and intelligence services regularly assess an evalue rate extraordinary amounts of information
that comes in about threats to Canadians, around challenges to our institutions, around
cyber attacks, around a range of things that they need to make evaluations and
assessments on They are professionals when it comes to determining whether an issue is a
serious threat, whether it's a substantive and substantiated piece of information, and that
is something they continue to do. The shift that I announced this week is
that going forward, whenever there is a threat or a suggestion of a threat,
however substantiated, however verifiable, it needs to be passed along to higher
political levels than was the case before. Does that mean every potential threat will
land on my desk, Not necessarily, but it will mean that ministers and
top public servants need to be assessed on it, and anything that is deemed
to be credible we will take the necessary action on it. Is a shift
that I've announced as of last week. At isn't the case before. There
wasn't a directive around this before. So it's a question of recognizing that CSUS
and our intelligence services are professionals in the way they assess and evaluate the substantiated,
native nature or the serious nature of potential threats. But what we're saying
is even if it's minor, it should be elevated to the highest levels.
That is the new change moving forward and Just to follow up, members of
the Liberal Party passed a resolution this weekend to urge your government to set up
a National Citizens Assembly on electoral reform. Do you support revisiting the issue and
how has your thinking on this change since you abandon that promise. I continue
to feel that it would be great to have a ranked ballot. It would
be great for Canadians to be able to pick their first, their second,
or their third choice on a given ballot. These are conversations I have continued
to have with Liberals and with partners in the House. When we made the
supplying confidence agreement with the NDP, I highlighted that I was more than willing
to move forward on a rank ballot if they wanted electoral change. The decision
was made that we would stay focused on issues of affordability, if issues of
progressive politics, but I'm always open if there is ever a consensus to move
forward on moving past first past the post. The fact is there is no
consensus and I was not in twenty fifteen to twenty nineteen going to use my
majority to change unilattery the way we elect people in Canada. I continue to
hope that we will one day reach consensus on that. But in the meanwhile,
I'm going to stay focused on the things that matter the most to Canadians,
which is affordability, which is creating great jobs for the middle class,
working on delivering real results, and healthcare and dental care. I don't think
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thoughts on Marc Lalande, who was an extraordinary Canadian, brilliant, thoughtful,
committed to service, who was of course an excellent friend to my father,
but he was also a really good friend to me who gave me counsel and
advice, particularly in my early days on politics, and his commitment and passion
for this country and for its people was unmatched. Who will be sorely missed,
particularly by all those who love him. And that my thoughts go out
today. I just got off the phone with Bigger Smith Alberta to express the
fact that Canadians stand with the people of Alberta as they deal with these terrible,
terrible wildfires. All weekend we were watching images from from communities affected by
this wealth of the wildfires, and I assured I know that we will be
there to help. We talked a lot of the different ways of the government
can help community. Working to make sure that we're supporting Alburdans right across the
province as necessary as we always do. The federal government is there to be
there for people who will continue to do that in Alberta and elsewhere where people
are affected by feeing, whether that's I'm want to high right as well,
we will be working with the Red Cross to put forward a matching fund so
our Canadians who are watching people and go through these stor nearly difficult times are
able to send their support. It's what we do. Canadians are there for
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Good afternoon everyone. I'm joined Mike Ellis, the Minister of Public Safety and
Emergency Services. Also with us is Colin Blair, the executive director of the
Alberta Emergency Management Agency, and once again Christy Tucker, the information unit manager
from a Alberta wildfire. Also joining us as Paul Winnock, the Deputy Minister
of Health. He's available to answer technical questions on the state of affected healthcare
facilities. I want to begin by saying that I'm deeply proud of the incredible
dedication and resilience of our first responders, our communities, our first nations and
Matey settlement partners and all Alburtons. There is no question that this is a
challenging time. Tens of thousands of people have been forced from their homes and
their jobs. They're leaving behind all they own, wondering if they will lose
everything that they've worked for and while many Albertons are being forced to evacuate,
firefighters and first responders from across the province and the country are doing their absolute
best to control the destruction and protect Alberton's lives and property. Albertons cannot thank
them enough for their efforts. Just yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit
the evacuation center that has been set up in Edmonton. Despite the difficult challenges
that everyone was facing, there was a sounding sense of help and optimism from
both the hard working volunteers who are helping those who are displaced and our friends
and neighbors who are forced to evacuate. I also toured some of the affected
wildfire areas near Endwhistle and received a thorough briefing from the local team on the
state of the situation in that community. This is an incredibly stressful time and
we know Albertons need extra support while they are out of their homes and communities,
and that's why we're announcing that additional help is on the way for wildfire
evacuees. Starting tomorrow, the government will begin providing one time emergency financial assistance
to residents who have been forced to evacuate due to these wildfires. Every adult
who's been evacuated and displaced for seven consecutive days will receive one two hundred and
fifty dollars, along with an additional five hundred dollars for each dependent child under
age eighteen. This means that an evacuated family of four will receive thirty five
hundred dollars to help get through these dark days and to meet their immediate needs.
These payments will help evacuees pay for accommodations, food, and other basic
necessities. That payments will make those expenses one less thing for people to worry
about, so that they can concentrate on their families and their own well being.
We know that this is a tough time, so we've made the application
process quick and easy. Evacuees can apply online using a verified Alberta dot CAA
account. Payments will be provided through e transfer once your eligibility is confirmed,
and that process can take as little as twenty four hours. This is the
most efficient way to receive your evacuation payment and to get it as quickly as
possible. However, we do recognize that applying online may not be an option
for everyone. If you are unable to apply online or you can't receive the
e transfer, people can also call the Wildfire Resource Line. We've heard this
number before, We'll say it again, three ten four four five five.
Once they are eligible, I'd like to just repeat that number. It's three
ten four four five five. Staff will be able to help with applications and
make alternate payment arrangements. The Government of Alberta is also working to ensure residents
in remote locations, including Indigenous reserves and mate settlements, will get these payments
as well. These payments are only one part of our ongoing response, but
they are a critical lifeline for evacuees in their hour of need. We will
ensure everyone who is eligible to receive an emergency payment will get one. And
earlier today, I did have an opportunity to speak with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
after updating him on the situation we facing Alberton's. I first thanked him for
the work of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center, which has already been activated
and working with our team here. It's part of the reason why we already
have crews from other provinces who have been arriving. And you'll hear more about
that later, but after talking with Prime Minister, we sent a formal request
for additional assistance. Minister Mike Ellis will provide an update on that shortly.
During our call, Prime Minister Trudeau confirmed that the military will be sent to
assist if necessary. We will continue to keep communication channels open with the federal
government as we respond to this unprecedented situation. I'd also like to provide a
brief update on evacuations and their impact on our healthcare system. As of this
morning, almost three hundred patients and long term care residents have been safely evacuated
from four Alberta House Services sites, including Drayton Valley Hospital and Care Center,
Edson Healthcare Center, Fox Greek Healthcare Center, and High Prairie Health Complex.
These evacuations have gone very well thanks to the cooperation of those having to move
and the hard work of our staff, physicians, and supporting agencies. These
relocations are happening through EMS, through chartered buses and flights is required depending on
specific needs. Healthcare workers across the province are working around the clock to ensure
patients and residents are safely cared for in temporary locations, and HS is contacting
the families of loved ones to share the patient and resident location information, and
I want to be clear, despite these evacuations, our healthcare system is still
wellcliped equipped and will continue to meet the needs of Albertans from all corners of
the province. I want to thank our frontline staff, leaders and physicians who
have come together to support the response across Alberta health services and especially to those
who have been evacuated along with their families. Over the past few days,
we have heard countless stories of individibal Albertans stepping up to lend a hand,
whether it's volunteering, making a financial contribution through the Canadian Red Cross or another
charity, or donating clothes. Albertons have demonstrated their generosity and sense of caring
throughout this unprecedented situation, and any Alberton who donates a cash contribution can receive
a non refund charitable tax credit on their first two hundred dollars thanks to a
sixty percent charitable tax credit from the province and fifteen percent from the federal government.
We made that recent change in budget twenty twenty three. We've also seen
various companies step up and provide generous contributions in support of the current situation.
I'd like to quickly acknowledge Tellis, who today made an initial commitment of five
million dollars in cash and in kind donations to local charities and organizations supporting relief
efforts and first responders, and the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation will be dedicating net
proceeds from the Oilers playoffs fifty fifty starting tomorrow May ninth, until the end
of Round two to the Canadian Red Cross in support of the humanitarian effort to
help Alburton's affected by these wildfires. Additionally, during my call earlier today,
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed the federal government is working with the Red Cross and
will match donations on behalf of the Government of Alberta. I want to thank
everyone, both individual Alburtons and companies who have contributed to to the support of
this emergency. Finally, before I conclude and turnover to Minister Ellis, I
would like to make a call out to anyone who is trained and qualified in
firefighting who would like to be and would be willing to volunteer. If you
work for a private sector company, if you are firefighting qualified and you are
willing to lend a helping hand. Please email Emergency Support Offers at gov dot
ABTA. That's emergency support offers at gov dot eb dot CA. Government officials
will assess your qualifications and let you know how you can help play a role
in responding to this unprecedented fire season. Thank you, and I'd now like
to invite Mike Ellis to share some opening remarks, So again, thank you,
Thank you Premier. In good afternoon everyone, So I want to express
my support to all Olburtons who have been evacuated in their communities, those who
are in the process of being evacuated, and those who are beginning to return
home. We stand closely with you during this very challenging time. Thank you
again to all of our frontline, especially those firefighters and first responders who are
working tirelessly to protect Elburtons, their homes, their communities throughout this emergency.
And a big thank you to the volunteers and those who have offered support to
their fellow Elburtons. The resilience and compassion of Alburton's in the face of adversity
represents the very best of this province. The top priority of Alberta's government and
is and will continue to be keeping Alberton safe during this state of emergency.
As you've all seen over the weekend, this is a rapidly changing situation and
we continue to take steps to respond to situation as the need arises. The
albert Emergency Management Agency is coordinating with all impacted communities to respond rapidly to the
fires and their effects. I continue to have great confidence in our emergency responders
and the important work that they are doing across this province. Furthermore, I
have been in continuous contact with my federal counterpart as we continue to work together
to utilize all possible resources in responding to this emergency. Earlier today, I
did send as the Premier i mentioned, I did send a letter to Minister
Blair and Minister Menachino outlining our request for federal assistance. We've asked the federal
government to provide support in the following areas. Number one, the provision of
firefighting resources, the prepositioning of strategic airlift resources for the evacuation of isolated communities,
engineering supports along with heavy equipment resources, water purification resources, the continued
assistance of additional Royal Canadian Mounted Police to support security and evacuation as required,
the costs related to the RCMP operations within the province for the wildfire response,
the provision of the military personnel to provide a measure of security for evacuated communities
to guard against looting and disorder. An exemption from the federal federal requirements to
extend flight hours for air support related to firefighting and required evacuations. Reimbursement of
costs related to expenditures for supporting First Nations communities impacted by wildfires, and constructions
of those communities. Flexibility and exceptions. We're applicable for the Elberton's receiving employment
insurance as well as rapid enrollment for those being evacuated or businesses closed because of
the wildfires. And I just want to say that I've certainly recently actually spoken
to Minister Blair and he is beginning to start to action the items on the
list that we have provided them. So before I continue, I'd like to
caution that we have been informed by you know, the Canadian our forces that
we do have limited fire fighting capabilities. And I let everybody know that because
there is no silver bullet solution in our response to you know, every action
to this very complex situation. Every action is being taken as part of a
coordinated response and a strategy to address this emergency. We have full faith and
competence in our firefighters and with wildlife, we certainly have full full confidence in
the Alberta Emergency Management Association and it is absolutely a coordinated effort not just across
the province, but a coordinated effort in the throughout the country to ensure that
we address not just the fires that are going on in Alberta, but of
course as well as British Columbia and Saskatchewan who also have fires that are currently
ongoing. As Premier outlined, the new emergency evacuation payments are now part of
the support available to Alberton's who have been evacuated over a period of more than
seven days. Details are available online and will be updated in real time.
Evacuees can visit to Alberta dot c a slash emergency to apply for their payment
using a verified Alberta dot c A account. That site again is Alberta dot
c a slash Emergency and we also have the most up to date information on
the evolving emergency situation. If you're in an affected area, please register as
an evacuee at your local reception center and staff will connect you to the resources
and assistance that are available. This has been a very, very difficult time
for students who have been displaced due to wildfire evacuations, and I'm going to
provide you a REEF update on the impact on the schools. So as of
eleven am today, there have been fifty four schools that have been closed as
a result of the wildfire evacuations, affecting approximately ten thousand, five hundred students.
Contingency plans are being developed in place to support the continued learning of students
if any evacuation persists for longer than the longer for a longer period of time,
officials are going to continue to provide updates on schools and contingency plans as
needed and now, as this week and has shown, the emergency situation is
constantly changing, so I want to be very clear to all Elburton's whether you're
close to an area that is currently impacted or not. Again, I'm going
to repeat this, it is immensely important to take the steps that are necessary
to prepare yourself in the event that you have to leave your home due to
an emergency. You can never be too prepared and there are great resources available
at Alberta dot c if you need an idea of what you may need to
start with, So prepare that emergency kit with seventy two hours worth of food,
water, critical documents for state kits, medication or any other necessities.
I understand in times like this this is very distressing for everyone, so I
want to remind everyone also that help is available to any Alberton who's struggling with
mental health concerns that they might be facing at this time. You can call
to one one to one one is available day or night to find mental health
supports and programs to support your wellness. No matter where you are in this
province, mental health services will be there when you need them. Albertan seeking
counseling supports can also visit Counseling Alberta dot CAA to access same day counseling services
with low or no fees. Lastly, while I don't believe it to be
widespread issue at this time, I certainly have heard some examples of price gauging
which might be occurring within the province and areas where a vacuees are being sheltered.
I want to be very very crystal clear on this. Albertans are not
going to accept price gauging and we are going to offer the assistance where people
most need it. I will just say these are rumors at best at this
time, but I just want to say for anybody who may believe that there
might be some price gouging that is going on, or they suspect any form
of price gauging, please just call Service Alberta again. You can call it
through that number of three one zero four four five five Again, that's three
one zero four four five five. And before I end, I just want
to reiterate that we remain committed to ensuring that all Albertons are safe and secure
and we are going to get through this, and we're going to get through
this together. So please everyone stay safe out there, and thank you.
I'm going to now hand this over to Colin Blair to provide some technical updates
on the albert Emergency Management Agency and their response. Thank you, Good afternoon
everyone. Alberta continues to be under a state of provincial emergency and response efforts
are focusing still on protecting and supporting Alberton's during these wildfires. The Provincial Emergency
Coordination Center continues to coordinate the response and remains at Level four, which is
the highest level. We now have ninety eight active wildfires burning in the province.
In addition to the provincial state of emergency, there are seventeen states of
local emergency, as well as two banned council resolutions. We strongly encourage all
Alburtons to download the Alberta Emergency Alert app so you get alerts right to your
phone. At this time, there are fifteen evacuation orders in place, with
more than twenty nine tho individuals safely evacuated from their homes and ten thousand evacuees
have registered at eleven reception centers. I highly encourage all evacuees to register.
If you're not able to attend a reception center, then go to the Wildfire
Emergency Updates on Alberta dot CAA and register online. Evacuees who require assistance can
also call the three four four five five for wildfire and evacuee related information.
As of this morning, the evacuation order for the town of Edson and some
areas of Yellowhead County from Marlborough to the Chip Lake area have officially been lifted
by the municipality. People have asked about re entry. Let's be clear,
there's a process for entry and is crucial that evacuates follow the direction of the
local authority. When each local authorities and Senate Commander is determined that a community
is safe, then efforts will shift to planning for re entry. We continue
to work with partners in all levels of government disover emergency supports. As the
situation continues to evolve and change, it's important for all Albertons to check the
latest information on the status of the wildfires in their communities, as well as
any evacuation alerts and orders. Again, for the most up to date information,
Alberton should fallow notifications and advisory from the local municipalities, monitor Alberta dot
CIA and the Wildfire Status Dashboard online. Thank you, and I would now
like to turn things over to Christy from Alberta Wildfire for more information on the
situation. Thank you, Colin. As Colin mentioned at the moment, there
are ninety eight wildfires burning in Alberta and twenty seven of those are considered out
of control. The total area burned for the province this year has now passed
three hundred and ninety thousand hectares. But today we have seen a continuation of
yesterday's break in the hot weather across most of the province, with light scattered
showers and light winds too. This is giving firefighters a helping hand causing less
active wildfire, allowing them to work on parts of fires they hadn't been able
to access before. It's a mud need, a chance to make progress on
some of these powerful, challenging wildfires, but we're not out of the woods
yet. We're expecting to warm up towards the weekend, which could raise fire
danger levels again, and we anticipate the wind direction could shift, which will
change how we tackle these fires. Alberta currently has over seven hundred wildland firefighters,
along with heavy equipment and air tankers responding to wildfires in the province.
An extra twenty firefighters arrived from British Columbia yesterday and now'll be sent to assist
on wildfires, along with close to eighty wildland firefighters that came from Ontario and
Quebec. We've also requested additional firefighting resources through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center
in Winnipeg. We've asked for up to a thousand firefighters from the Yukon,
Ontario, Nova Scotia New Brunswick and we're expecting them to arrive in the next
week. At this time, all Alburtons need to take extra care that they
don't start a wildfire no matter where they are, So please respect the fire
bands or off highway vehicle restrictions that are in place across the forest protection area
of the province. And if you see smoke or fire in the forest,
please call three ten Fire to report it and help us keep everyone safe.
Thank you. Just before we get to questions, I just want to clarify
a point. I apologize to everyone. I made a bit of an error
on my notes there. In speaking with Minister Blair, he had indicated to
me, because I always want to temper the expectations that some people have with
our Canadian military. He indicated to me that the Canadian military is limited in
their capabilities when it comes to firefighting. It's not us, I must say.
The outstanding work that's being done by the men and women who are fighting
fires. One of the things that Minister Blair reiterated to me is that we
have a top notch organization. Probably one of if not the best in Canada
when it comes to firefighting, and so I just wanted to probably that clarification.
We can go to questions now, thank you. Perfect. So the
Premier Minister Elis Christie Tucker from Upbera Wildfire, Colin Blair from the Ubera Emergency
Management Agency, and Health Deputy Minister Paul Winnick are available to answer questions.
We'll go to in person questions first, and there is a microphone at the
right of the room. One question, one follow up. Please state your
damon outlet and please keep questions to wildfire the topic of the wildfire only.
And I might just say that when I was coming in, I got a
chance to meet Brigadier General Graham and he indicated that the Princess Patricia Canadian Light
Infantry do have a three hundred people trained in some firefighting, so that will
help since they are close to home, and they'll also be putting out a
call to their reservists who also have firefighting training, and so we may be
able to have some local help faster than we expected. So that's good news
to have as well. Hi in a cool wiseberg with CTV News, I
wanted to ask about call out for volunteers. Has Alberta ever done this before?
And why do you feel the need to put it those this call out
right now, especially considering you are getting so many more resources. I'll tell
you why. We've got a new Minister of Forestry, Parks and Tourism,
Todd Lowen, and one of the things that he said very early on is
that we have a number of indigenous communities that have local firefighting expertise. Indeed,
when I talked to the chief up north, he had said that they
have as many as four hundred and fifty people who are trained in firefighting,
and so he wanted to find a pathway so that people can be brought on
board safely. We want to ensure that individuals who are lending a hand are
going to have the sufficient training so that they can work with the teams,
and so we are giving it a try. As you heard, we have
a force here in our own department of just over seven hundred, and as
CHRISTI mentioned, we're doing a call for a thousand from outside of province.
We know that from what we'd heard in the previous update, some of these
may continue on for several months, and so if we can use the resources
that are already here from people who are able to help. We want to
be open to doing that, but we want to do it in a safe
way and make sure that those who are brought in are trained up to the
same standard that will allow them to integrate effectively into the team. So we're
going to give it a try. And this is for wildfire officials. I
know this has been asked every day, but I'm wondering if you have a
better idea of the loss of infrastructure at this point in some of the areas,
including Drain Valley and Twhistle area. I'll take that question. So we
are continuing to gather information on this. The first thing that we need to
make sure is that the wildfire threats been eliminated and it is part of the
reentry process. So while we do not have a conclusive number, because we
have a number of active fires that are still threatening municipalities, we continue to
work on those numbers and they're held by the municipalities and the intent is is
that when they move into re entry, they're contacting people who are impacted.
All right, we're gonna go to the phone lines for Radio Canada. We
do have a French translator so we'll just ask that you ask your question in
English. When we get to you, the appropriate official or cabinet member will
answer in English and then the translator will provide a French response. So operator,
could you please put through the first caller. I thank your first Bowers
closed the boer CCP calroup. Apologies here. I thought it was going to
be a little later down here, But Premier, I just want to ask
you. You were vaculators Arizona. You and your husband operated a restaurant in
High River at the time of the comments that have been circulating. You were
following me so called tyrannical measures set out by your predecessor, Jason Kenney called
the restriction Coxemption program. So you have to ensure guests are back then for
dining. If you see vacuated Albertons or followers of Hitler, would you include
yourself as Premier at the follower of Hitler? And why didn't you stand up
against those measures from Jason Kenny Well, I've issued a statement regarding my comments.
Have always remained a friend to the Jewish community, to Israel and to
our veterans, and I would ask you to reach out to my office for
copy of my statement. Do you have an on topic follow up question?
I'm good, all right, operator, Can you please put through the next
collar? Thank you see if posluse good afternoon. On to the question here
for I'm not really sure here. I'm thinking minister like Ellis may be best
positions to answer this, maybe the Premier. I'm just wondering about this escalation
to the military. Why are we not seeing military resources being deployed right this
second. You know a lot of people were saying that we should have seen
it last week and now this week. My understanding, based off what you
guys were saying, is that there is still sort of escalation planning happening.
When will we see those extra resources out there helping people that are being displayed?
Well I can. I can tell you that I came in today and
I was delighted to see that the Brigadier General Graham was already here, saying
that they had already forces as needed. He introduced me to several members of
his team, including the head of the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry, and
indicated that they had three hundred firefighters that would be willing to be put or
able to be put into service. The issues that we'd asked of the Prime
Minister was to do an assessment of where our military would best be able to
help, and as Minister Ellis mentioned, we talked about firefighting, so that
was one issue I spoke with the Brigader General Graham about doing engineering. One
of the things that I observed when I went out to Parkland County yesterday is
that there are fireguards that are created with twelve meter wide and they have the
capacity to do that kind of work as well. And the third area that
I had asked about was whether military could be deployed to assist in making sure
communities that were evacuated were safe, and that's an area that would require a
little bit more work, but it sounds like they are already willing and have
the capability to do those first two items. And the fact that they met
me here today says to me that the message got through. I just need
to be clear on something though, is that I spoke with the Prime Minister
and just pointed out that the Internet Agency Forest Fire Center has worked extra extremely
well for us. I asked him about the how long it had been in
operation, and we've had it in operation in our country since nineteen eighty two,
and that's the way in which all of the various firefighting resources have been
coordinated, and he acknowledged that. I think that the coordination has been even
better since the Fort McMurray fires. So the agencies have been working on trying
to get deployment of those resources here right from the beginning. That's part of
the reason why with the requests that are oh, we're already beginning to see
those those extra resources arrived today. A couple more areas that I thought that
the Prime Minister might be able to assist with is the firefighting capability with potentially
within Parks Canada and maybe within CP and C and rail, which are federally
regulated entities. So there's I think that because we're seeing that the need is
so high that it might continue on for a long period of time, we
wanted to make sure that all of the resources were available. But I think
that the Interagency Forest Fire Center has done a tremendous job of making sure that
we've gotten the resources that we need. I wonder if Christy might want to
comment on them. We work very closely side by side with our colleagues across
Canada, and certainly the calls to the inter Agency Forest Center happened on a
weekly basis, even outside of wildfire season. We're always talking to our colleagues
and we're talking on an operational level, So those decisions are made in between
wildfire specialists, and when when a fire breaks out somewhere that we know we
realize we will need extra assistance with those calls are made right away, and
I know that our colleagues across the country and abroad are always there waiting to
send us some help. Yeah. Safe. I which is further add to
this is that is that we have to put in the trust in trust our
incident command teams. So all of these fires that are unfortunately all through this
province have incident command teams that have been assigned to them, and when they
request more resources, you know, we make sure that we get those resources
to the folks that are on the ground. This is uh, you know,
in proactive measures that we have done, what the premier has done,
what I've done, which is to reach out to the federal government to make
sure that we have these resources available to them, is exactly what we're doing.
However, just remember that the person in command of any critical incident is
that incident commander. So we have to put trace of trust and faith in
them and what they're doing. We have fantastic people in the province that have
been doing an outstanding job. We've brought in people not only nationally but internationally
who are instant command and instant man teams. And if they are requiring more
resources, we as the government are making sure that they're having the necessary resources
available to them. Safety have a follow up question. I do call them
thanks a polities are literatreat a little here and ask to two questions, just
for either the Parmiter or the Public Safety minister, just for prolification. Will
be military be deployed? When can we expect them? And then I am
not sure if this is for Christie Tucker about we're seeing a lot of areas
that are still under an evacuation ordered but those alerts aren't showing up on the
lack or the website. Why is that? And again a polist offing two
questions there, but I believe the second is a bit of a public safety
thing, So thank you. Yeah. When I spoke with the Prime Minister
today, he said the Canadian Armed Forces will be deployed and it's a matter
of getting the incident command team that Mike was just talking about to determine the
best way to integrate them within the teams. But I took it as a
good sign that when I showed up here today, Brigadier General Graham was already
on hand, introducing me to his team and saying that they were just doing
that assessment right now. So I would anticipate that as soon as they're ready
and as soon as the Emergency Command Center is willing to or is able to
integrate them, they will and I'll hand it over to Christie. So the
Alberta emergency alert system is working well. It's a national system. We work
closely with the telecommunication companies, the national regulator, as well as several several
hundred users across the province. We have a few things that we're working on
to try to fix it, and we're we're bound and we're going to make
this work much better. I think the information that might be missing on there,
we're going to be resolving that in fairly short order. All right,
operator next color, please, I thanks for taking my question. I think
this makes for a premier Smith and for some of that series, like those
in Edson won't be eligible for these types of one term emergency payments. So
justly if you can explain to everyone kind of tell you landed on its eligibility
criteria emergency payments, it was a it was a matter of policy from the
previous government and and grandfather didn't. We did an assessment in twenty twenty,
and in twenty twenty the policy was set at the time to make emergency payments
available after seven days of evacuation. I think part of the issue is number
one, red Cross comes in and I was at the Expo center. Red
Cross has done a tremendous job of connecting people with hotels for the first three
days, and then that gives the various individuals time to contact their insurance companies
if they have an insurer, and speaking with many of the insurance companies,
part of what they were waiting for is us to do a provincial emergency declaration
so those funds could continue to flow. So we wanted to make sure that
we were able to fill any gaps, and that's part of the reason why
it's seven days. When family has been out of home for longer than seven
days, that's when I think additional strain and pressure comes on. So that
may be the reason behind the original policy. We just wanted people to know
that it was going to be at the same level that it had been in
in previous years twelve hundred and fifty dollars for each adult, five hundred dollars
for each child, and that we have a simplified process to be able to
apply our Cabinet Emergency Cabinet Committee Committee is meeting every morning and so if we
find that there is some unmet need, we will be able to address that.
And do you have a follow up? I do, yeah, my
felips for our minister Alice. So one of the requests that you made to
auder All was the provision of military personnelity provide a measure of security for vacuating
communities to guard against footing and disorders. I think you've been on Saturday.
That was one instance, but they a break an error. I think a
couple of folks were arrested in that instance. So many how big of a
concern is this and how many military folks introport it needs to address this?
I mean, we'll allow the incident command teams to make that assessment, working
with of course the Predator General as to what the need is. Obviously there
are some concerns. I you know, I agree with you. I've I've
heard the one. You know, well, I hope that there is not
more. But you know, typically in these situations we want to err on
the side of caution. One of the things that the military has expressed that
they can do is to certainly help or augment our folks in the RCMPG again,
just to provide that visible presence in the communities, to ensure that there's
the people know that there is a love of public safety. All right,
operator, could you please put through the next collar Western Standard? Very thank
you for the question. How are more heady m as Again? I just
had a brief conversation with Brigader General Graham when I came in today and I
met with the head of the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry. They were the
ones who indicated that here on site in Alberta, within their ranks, they
have three hundred fire individuals who have been trained in firefighting. So I think
that would be the optimal situation is if we have military personnel who are already
here, if they can be brought into into into service, and that's something
that we'll leave with the emergency Command Center to figure out the best way to
make use of those talents. Do you have a follow up offer and how
will we feed and how is volunteers? Did you say, well, look,
there are many communities in northern Alberta that have people who have the talent
and expertise on firefighting. That's who we're calling for, is that we're hoping
that there are people who live within those communities who want to help put out
fires in their communities. That was certainly the feedback that I got at Fox
Lake is that there were individuals who'd been trained who wanted to be able to
help put out fires in their home communities. So that's what we'll be assessing.
And I want to leave it to the experts to make sure that they're
bringing people in to integrate with the teams who have the level of expertise that
is going to work well with the team. You certainly don't want to bring
in new people who are unfamiliar with how with how to this kind of firefighting,
because that could then end up creating a situation that's dangerous for everyone.
So we wanted to make sure that because we know we have such talent in
this province with individual firefighting in private sector companies as well as nonproprofits as well
as First Nation communities. We just want to know to be open to seeing
if there are individuals in some of those existing rural and remote communities who can
integrate into our existing teams so that we have as many hands on deck to
fight these fires locally as possible, so that we can reduce the overall cost
of the things that you'd mentioned. Thank you, operator. Could you please
put through the next collar? Carler Robinson City News Everything, Carli, your
phone might be mooted. Okay, operator, could you put through the next
collar? Please? Thank you every him. I mean it's today and I
stop to send residents who had the impression that the Common State the evacuation order
too soon from disagreed. But what lessons did you learn maybe from previous fires,
like Foraorth mcmurrion, the timing of the evacuation ordered having to be given.
I'll ask Colin to take that one. I'm gonna start with. I
think it's a bit premature to start considering what kind of lessons we're learning from
this. I did mention yesterday that I thought it was prudent that the local
authorities took the right action based upon the imminence of the threat. I think,
you know, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
So my earlier work on this, I think it's too early. We
will have a look at lessons learned when we get this event over, and
we do have a French translator here to answer that in French. You can
just come up and take my microphone if you'd like, Monsieur premature da mama,
m appropriately And do you have a follow up question? Audrey? Um,
yes, what's your message for people who are you know, for naval
and et and now they've come back home that they flowers raising you? No,
not that not that far away. What's the message but people who have
come back on all the album with yes, you know? I think I
might ask Christie to handle that one, because just to the earlier question that
you had is part of the issue of what happened in a couple of communities
is that they were evacuated and called back home and had to be evacuated again.
And we certainly don't want to put people through that kind of disruption,
so I want to but I also don't want to to overstate or understate the
level of concern or risk there might be, so let me get Christy to
comment on that one. Yeah, I will just say that certainly, that
fire and many others across the province saw a rapid change over a few days
because of the extreme conditions and the winds that we saw. We did have
the size of seventy seven thousand hectares on that fire, which is a significant
size fire, and that gives it a lot of power as well. It
was fourteen kilometers southeast of Edson. It did overrun the Middle Lake Provincial Recreation
Area, which I know was a great concern to residents in the area.
Certainly, it was predicted that there could be an impact to structures during that
burning period depending on the activity of the wildfire, and crews were working very
hard to avoid that scenario. Thank you, Madam Tucker. If you had
the explicit um um adult that'sque Santi settorn dead son le santroni um if he
comes uh So. Thank you for listening to everybody. You've been listening to
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