The Character of a Community

In 2021 the Liberal government promised they would spend $500 million to train and equip 1,000 new firefighters across the country, who would be ready to spring into action before the next wildfire season. The money would also buy equipment such as water bombers and helicopters. Another broken Liberal promise. The EnvironmentCommittee heard from expert testimony how better proactive forest management,including clear cut logging, removal of deadwood and prescribed burns can all help mitigate new threats.  And yet, there was silence and inaction from the Liberal government. Of the 114 forest fires year-to-date in Manitoba, the province has recorded that 102 of them were caused by human activity. We can do better.

In the face of tragedy, the character of a community is revealed. I am so proud to be part of the communities around Provencher as we face a state of emergency because of the wildfires around the province. 

Just outside of La Broquerie, fire crews fought 15-20 feet high flames for 8 hours across a 750-acre blaze which included farmland, bush and swamp. Thanks to the skilled work of our firefighters, the fire was steered away from structures on the land and no injuries were reported. 

In RM of Piney, the municipality declared a state of emergency due to a fire that started between Carrick and Badger. Because of the high winds, heat and dry conditions the fire had spread over 1,000 hectares and threatened the communities of St.Labre and Woodridge. The communities were evacuated, and our firefighters fought 24 hours a day, in 15 hours shifts, to successfully ward off the threat. Thank you! 

When Chief Allan Rau with RM of Tache’s fire department was interviewed, he said, “Wildland firefighting is extremely taxing, and it takes a lot of energy and physical resources.”

As residents, we don’t have to be following Environment Canada’s air index ratings to know the air outside our homes is being impacted—even by fires from a far distance. Thick billows of smoke travel at the winds’ command while we wait on sufficient rain to clear the air. We experience the smoke’s persistence as we breathe–and by the haze we see around us, although people with chronic health conditions, the elderly, those pregnant, infants and young children are all especially vulnerable.

But for places that needed to be evacuated, for people who were forced to leave their homes, Provencher residents extended compassion through service in action. People in communities on high alert, knew that at any moment, a sudden change in the wind’s direction could mean packing those pre-selected items in their cars and looking back at their homes from a convoy out of the city, town or village.

That was just the case in Whiteshell provincial parks where out-of-control wildfires threatened residents with the imminence of evacuation. That was also the case for former Steinbach resident who watched the growing flames from her Flin Flon apartment about a kilometre away until the winds shifted, and the authorities called for evacuation. 

Residents were forced to leave. Still, behind them were the unrelenting heroic efforts of those who remained. A big thank you goes to the Canadian Armed Forces who have been helping people leave their homes safely. Also, to the Office of the Fire Commissioner, RCMP and organizations like the Canadian Red Cross and Salvation Army. 

While we are indebted to the front-line workers who remain on the ground and battle for the rest of us, putting their own lives on the line to save the lives of others and fightingfor our communities, we are also so grateful to the many others who have stepped up and made a difference.

Let me also thank the many communities around Provencher who have expressed their compassion in many practical ways. I am so proud to be associated with the collaboration and acts of service in the various municipalities around the riding. I’ve watched and heard of so many people meeting needs, from ladies’ groups making meals, to community centres offering shelter, to car shows offering most of their proceeds to local fire fighters.

As I write this, I hear and see God’s natural water bombing, it is my prayer that sufficient rain continues to avert any immediate threats of further damage.