The Westside Road wildfire on July 20th. (Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com)
NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair is on the campaign trail in B.C., and he’s promising that an NDP government would work to take federal action on wildfires and flood safety.
Mulcair was in Nanaimo on Tuesday, announcing his three-point plan to help Canadians with wildfires and floods in the face of climate change. “The NDP is taking action to ensure Canadians and their homes are safer with an effective and modern approach to coordinated disaster assistance,” said Mulcair. “The NDP understands the urgent need for a strong national plan to help prevent, mitigate and respond to wildfires and floods in the face of climate change. We have the plan to undo the damage done by Stephen Harper.”
NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair in Courtenay. (Photo Credit: Tom Mulcair/Facebook)
The plan is to restore funding for the Joint Emergency Preparedness Program and for training programs that were previously provided by Emergency Preparedness College. The party says that they would also sit down with the provinces to strengthen Disaster Financial Assistance Agreements.
Premier Christy Clark, along with Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, made a call in July for a strategic national action plan to share additional resources before the next fire season. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said that the government is waiting until the 2015 fire season is over before assessing what might need to be done differently in the future.
The Wood Lake wildfire near Harrison Lake. (Photo Credit: BC Wildfire Service)
