Fisheries and Land Resources
May 11, 2017

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Steve Crocker, Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources:

Old Perlican and Flatrock Receive FireSmart Community Preparedness Day Grants

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the towns of Old Perlican and Flatrock, which have received $500 FireSmart Community Preparedness Day grants. The grants are provided through our province’s membership in Partners in Protection, a national organization dedicated to making communities safe from wildland fire.

Newfoundland and Labrador has been a part of the FireSmart Canada Community Recognition Program since 2013. This year, up to 20 project funding awards were available nationally to implement neighbourhood projects.

Municipalities use these grants to continue raising awareness, protect homes and become FireSmart. With its grant, the Town of Flatrock hosted a wildland fire awareness and FireSmart preparedness public meeting yesterday. The Town of Old Perlican will use its grant to host a wildfire awareness and FireSmart open house at a later date.

Mr. Speaker, our fire suppression staff encounter fires, particularly in the spring, that place neighbourhoods, communities, the public and firefighters at risk. As part of National Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, which was on May 6, we asked Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to become aware of techniques to minimize the risk of wildland fire damage.

Until the end of the forest fire season on September 30, we ask all communities across our province and the country to participate in local mitigation projects to help reduce the risk of wildland fire damage.

Thank you.

2017 05 11                              2:00 p.m.