Federal government to match Red Cross donations for Fort McMurray fire

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This article was published 05/05/2016 (3799 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA – The House of Commons pledged unanimous support for northern Alberta on Thursday as Justin Trudeau’s government promised to match Red Cross donations aimed at helping those displaced by the Fort McMurray inferno.

The Red Cross said Thursday that it had already raised $11 million in donations.

The prime minister made the announcement during an extraordinary series of statements from party leaders about the devastating fire, which after three harrowing days has forced more than 80,000 people in northern Alberta to flee their homes.

Trudeau said the scale of the fire’s destruction has not yet been fully assessed but called it “far-reaching and utterly devastating.”

“To see the pictures out of Fort McMurray right now that could be taken in a war-torn corner of the world instead of our own backyard is a reminder of how Canadians will and must stand together with our friends and neighbours in this difficult time,” Trudeau said.

The government operations centre is co-ordinating the federal response and monitoring the situation around the clock, he said.

A number of federal departments have been pressed into service, including National Defence, Health Canada, Indigenous and Northern Affairs, Natural Resources Canada and the RCMP.

Trudeau said four Griffon helicopters and one Hercules aircraft have been deployed by the Royal Canadian Air Force, with further air support on standby.

Disaster assistance funds will also be coming, in addition to the government’s matching Red Cross donations.

“We will weather this storm together, and together we will rebuild,” said Trudeau. “I want to assure the people of Alberta we are doing everything we can to help.”

The government of Alberta has declared a state of emergency in a bid to galvanize the country’s relief efforts. Alberta is also matching Red Cross donations up to a cap of $2 million.

Later Thursday, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said that while officials are seized with immediate efforts, they will soon face issues such as income-supports for people who have lost their livelihoods, business recovery, infrastructure and housing needs, and health concerns — particularly because of the smoke.

He noted the irony of what was transpiring during emergency-preparedness week in Canada. “Certainly we’re all being tested on that front.”

Federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for emergency preparedness will gather Friday for a long-planned meeting. “And we will have a very powerful case study to go to work on to make sure that we are all now, and in the future, as prepared as we can humanly be to deal with these kinds of tragedies,” Goodale said.

Rona Ambrose, the interim leader of the Conservative party, appeared on the verge of tears as she described the citizens of Fort McMurray as coming from across Canada and having built a thriving resource community.

She paid tribute to all the Atlantic Canadians who have made lives in Fort Mac, “which gives us hope and faith that the city of Fort McMurray will rise again.”

Ambrose said people around the world are watching the images and that Fort McMurray’s residents have faced “literally hell on the Earth in the last couple of days.”

She said the city grew from nothing and became “the economic engine of this country.”

Later in the day, Ambrose’s office said she would be in Edmonton on Friday to meet privately with evacuees and their families, among with Alberta MPs Kerry Diotte, Kelly Macaulay, Matt Jeneroux and Michael Cooper.

Ambrose and the MPs were also planning to visit an emergency relief centre to help organize and sort donations for evacuees.

Brian Jean, the leader of the opposition Wildrose party in Alberta, lost his Fort McMurray home, “but in the very typical Alberta spirit, he said it’s just ‘stuff’ and we’ll carry on and rebuild,” she said.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair called the stoic response of Fort McMurray citizens reassuring, praised the “strength of character” of Albertans and called it “profoundly Canadian” to band together in a disaster. He noted Bombardier water bombers from Quebec are on their way to the fire.

“Everybody in Canada understands and feels for the people of Fort McMurray today,” said Mulcair. “This House should rise as one and provide all the support and help they need.”

Green party Leader Elizabeth May said the images coming out of the region are heartbreaking.

“We are one country,” she said, “and we love Fort McMurray.”

— With files from Jim Bronskill