Executive Council
May 4, 2016

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Dwight Ball, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador and Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs:

Government Reaches Out to Residents of Fort McMurray

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians as we think about family and friends in Fort McMurray during the devastating wildfire and resulting mass evacuation.

The wildfire that is currently raging in Alberta and those impacted, including the thousands of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians living and working there, are foremost in our thoughts today.

Like my Honourable Colleagues in this House and all residents, we have seen the images being carried on mainstream media and social media.

Last night our province reached out to offer help in whatever way needed.

Today I have a call scheduled with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley to discuss this further.

Mr. Speaker, the Provincial Government is ready to respond to the needs of residents in Fort McMurray. We are in contact with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry to offer our assistance.

We will coordinate our actions through our Mutual Aid Resource Sharing Agreement with the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, through the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency to make our resources available.

While sharing our resources, we will continue to be equipped to protect our province, our people, and forest resources in Newfoundland and Labrador.

We have responded to other provinces in situations like this one. In the past we have sent aircraft, firefighters and our Incident Management Team to Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

Today is International Firefighters Day. We want to take this opportunity to also thank the courageous firefighters for keeping our family and friends both in Alberta and here at home safe.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Fort McMurray today. For anyone concerned about the whereabouts of a friend or loved one in the area, please call the Alberta Red Cross at 1-888-350-6070.

Thank you.

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2016 05 04                              2:20 p.m.