October 6, 2003
Response to BC Forest Fires
Motion Without Notice
[Be it resolved that this House recognize:The heroic efforts of all firefighters and military personnel who fought and continue to fight the 2003 wildfires, the contributions of volunteers and donors across British Columbia in assisting the evacuees and helping rebuild communities; and the noble determination of those families directly affected.]
R. Lee: I would like to stand to add my voice to support the motion moved by the hon. member for Kamloops–North Thompson. This year British Columbia experienced the driest summer in 50 years, and the water level in some of the rivers reached the lowest level in 80 years. Consequently, it's not surprising to see that this province has had one of the worst summer seasons with fires caused by lightning and human error.
In early August, for a trip planned months ahead, I travelled with my family to Barkerville, Prince George, Prince Rupert, McBride and Kelowna. Everywhere we went, we could see the indirect effect of the fires on the tourist industries. In some areas we saw the effect of the fires on jobs and air quality.
Many families in the heartlands are directly affected by the interface fires. I was at the McLure and Louis Creek areas on September 20, together with 34 members of the Chinese Canadian community from the lower mainland, to talk to the families who were evacuees and to see firsthand the disaster area. As British Columbians we are all related, all interconnected like a human body. When part of the body is hurt, then we all feel the pain. The Chinese Canadian community brought in donations of a quarter of a million dollars to the North Thompson relief fund on that day. Thanks to the community members from Kensington and also to the member for Kamloops–North Thompson for their quick response.
The support of hundreds of communities, business organizations and individuals from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam was behind the donations. I would like to particularly mention the members from the Tzu Chi Foundation, who helped some families without house insurance, and the donation they gave to the three fire departments in McLure, Barriere and the Chu Chua volunteer fire departments.
Thanks to the volunteers and firefighters and also the military personnel coming from across Canada, the fires in British Columbia are now under control. From my constituency of Burnaby, the Burnaby firefighters were among those who helped to fight the fires in the heartlands this summer. They've also been in there helping fundraising for the relief fund by selling T-shirts.
Fortunately, the fires this summer also brought out the best in British Columbians, as many of my colleagues have said. In the months ahead, let's move forward together to help rebuild the affected communities, to bring in more economic development and job opportunities to these communities.
