More help coming from Ottawa to fight N.S. forest fires
Support will include funding, firefighters and military co-ordination
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The federal government has approved further resources to help fight the wildfires ripping through parts of Nova Scotia.
Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair announced the support Thursday morning in Ottawa.
The Canadian Armed Forces will provide planning and co-ordination support, as well as firefighters and fire specialists to help control the blazes. The firefighters will be used to relieve crews who have been working on the ground for days.
"They're doing an extraordinary job, but quite frankly they need help. They need relief and they need additional resources," Blair said. "That is a particularly dangerous fire and we're very concerned that it actually threatens a number of communities and other critical infrastructure in southern Nova Scotia, and so we'll move as quickly as possible to bring them that relief."
An out-of-control wildfire burning through parts of Shelburne County is the largest on record in the province, and additional fires have started in the area. Another wildfire near Halifax has destroyed about 150 homes, but is now 50 per cent contained.
Blair said the federal government is also assessing what further resources can be made available through other departments and agencies.
In addition to the support from Ottawa, 100 firefighters are on their way to Nova Scotia from the United States, including 25 who are expected to arrive immediately and another 60 to 80 who are expected on the weekend.
Tory Rushton, the provincial minister of natural resources, said Nova Scotia has already seen about 190 wildland fires this year — higher than last year's total of 157.
Central Nova Liberal MP Sean Fraser, the federal cabinet representative for the province, said Thursday morning that Ottawa will approve whatever requests for assistance it can.
"We're going to do everything we can to help keep people safe and to fight these fires and to protect our home province of Nova Scotia," Fraser told the CBC's Information Morning.
"The attitude is to get whatever help is necessary to help protect Nova Scotians into the province so we can do our part."
Fraser said he spoke with Defence Minister Anita Anand at about 5 a.m. Thursday, and she told him "she's approving every request that is coming her way."
Fraser said the federal government has already helped support the efforts by providing aerial surveillance from Transport Canada, crew comfort trailers from the Canadian Coast Guard and Transport Canada, coast guard helicopters and fire trucks from the Defence Department.
Ottawa will also contribute to a matching program through the Canadian Red Cross to provide financial assistance, and will support the province through the federal Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements program so it can give monetary help to people who have been affected.
"The federal government will be there to help backstop the cost so the province of Nova Scotia shouldn't be in a position where they're choosing not to provide supports to people because they won't have the cash to cover it," Fraser said.
Premier Tim Houston said Thursday he learned from the post-tropical storm Fiona experience about trying to access federal support.
"In my discussions with the prime minister he looked me in the eye at one point and said that Nova Scotia didn't fill out the proper forms and that's why the support hadn't come as quickly," Houston said.
"With that experience in mind, I was not ready to leave any room for a repeat when people's houses were literally burning."
Houston said the province has filled out all the paperwork, but he hopes the prime minister, cabinet and members of parliament recognize the time for action is now.
In an email Thursday afternoon, Mohammad Hussain, press secretary in the office of the prime minister, said following Fiona the prime minister met with Houston and said "government was ready to support Nova Scotia however possible."
"When a natural disaster strikes, our government moves extremely quickly to deploy any available resources to help people and the provincial government with the situation," Hussain said.
