Canadian military to remain key in natural disaster response, Blair says – National | 24CA News
Defence Minister Bill Blair says Canadians wish to see the navy come to their help throughout pure disasters, and the Armed Forces will stay a key a part of the federal government’s response.
“There is just something, I think, incredibly reassuring to Canadians when the Canadian Armed Forces show up and men and women in uniform are out in their communities and they’re sandbagging and helping people evacuate and get to safety,” he stated in a current interview.
Blair, who was moved from the Emergency Preparedness portfolio to go up Defence in final month’s cupboard shuffle, has been concerned in co-ordinating the federal authorities’s response to varied disasters. Those included floods attributable to an atmospheric river in British Columbia in 2021, wildfires which have raged throughout the nation every summer time and the devastation attributable to Hurricane Fiona in Atlantic Canada final yr.
And the variety of requires assistance is rising.
There was between 5 and 10 formal requests for help from the provinces and territories annually. Between March 2020 and October 2022, there have been greater than 200 requests for federal assist, nearly all of which have been associated to the COVID-19 pandemic. About 157 concerned the navy.
The Canadian Armed Forces has rapid response models which are activated to deal with disasters, the place their predominant function is usually to assist native officers with logistics, planning and manpower.
Speaking to a parliamentary committee final October, chief of the defence employees Gen. Wayne Eyre stated the navy is being referred to as upon too usually to answer such disasters, and people requests are placing a pressure on the Armed Forces at a time when it’s coping with a personnel scarcity.
“With the increasing frequency and intensity of these natural disasters, we’re being called upon more and more to respond not necessarily as a force of last resort, but in some cases the force of first choice,” he stated on Oct. 6.
Around 16,000 positions are unfilled throughout the navy, a scenario that senior commanders have referred to as a disaster.
Blair acknowledged the navy has at occasions been the federal authorities’s first name, reasonably than a final resort.
“I listened very carefully to the chief of the defence staff and the concerns that he’s expressed – quite legitimate concerns – about the impact that has on their training and capacity-building,” Blair stated.
That led to discussions earlier this yr about making a nationwide disaster-assistance group or one other mechanism to offer assist when it’s wanted.
The Canadian Press first reported in July that these discussions embody analyzing fashions such because the Federal Emergency Management Agency within the United States.
“We’ve been looking at, how do we build out what we call a humanitarian work force,” Blair stated.
“We’re working with the Canadian Red Cross, for example, the Salvation Army, the Search and Rescue Volunteers Association of Canada and other groups in civil society that we can call upon.”
Still, he stated the navy is the most suitable choice to answer sure conditions, resembling cases the place specialised search tools is required.
“It is part of their mandate and and one of their responsibilities,” he stated.
© 2023 The Canadian Press
