Canada’s wildfires need ‘multiple options’ for response: Anand

Canada’s defence minister says she is working with Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair to ensure “multiple options” are available to assist in the cross-country firefight — not just the Canadian Forces.

That comes as the provinces and territories battle increasingly devastating wildfires with the help of other agencies and outside partners. Those partners include the military, which Anita Anand says is in “growth mode” as it continues to struggle with an ongoing recruitment and retention crisis.

“Of course, I am always concerned about the Canadian Armed Forces and what we need to continue to be robust and to grow,” she told Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that aired Sunday on The West Block.

“I’ve had long conversations with Minister Blair about the need for us to continue to ensure that there are multiple options for assisting in crises such as natural disasters. And he and I are completely on the same page: that we will work with the provinces as necessary, we will source different types of support for the provinces in their time of need, and the Canadian Armed Forces are just one of those many different types of support, such as in the area of firefighting.”

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As of Friday, 421 active wildfires were burning in Canada with 217 classified as out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

So far this year, 2,410 wildfires have torched 4.5 million hectares of land.

The historic fire season has shone a spotlight on Canada’s shortage of firefighters, many of whom are volunteers, prompting the military to be called into multiple provinces.

Anand said 150 military personnel are on the ground in Alberta and another 450 are in Quebec, with more ready to deploy to Nova Scotia and other provinces as needed.

Additional assistance has come from the international community, particularly the United States, which has sent more than 600 firefighters so far with the promise of more to come.

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Help has also come in from South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that France, Portugal and Spain were also sending more than 280 firefighters to Canada.

“The reality is that first responders around the world are stepping up to assist with forest fires in Canada, recognizing that climate change is an issue that affects all of us and our allied relationships remain strong,” Anand said. “And that’s why we’re seeing such an international level of coordination and cooperation.”

The federal government is looking at creating a national disaster response agency that would replace the coordinated efforts of federal departments including Emergency Preparedness, Public Safety and National Defence.

As it helps with the wildfire response, the Canadian military also has to balance its obligations to the Indo-Pacific, which play a major part of the government’s new strategy for the region.

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The importance of a strong military presence there was underscored last weekend, when Global News witnessed a Chinese navy ship cut off an American vessel and Canadian frigate at close range while sailing in the Taiwan Strait.

Anand said she has promised allies in the region that “you will see more of Canada here,” pointing to the commitment of a third frigate that will monitor the Taiwan Strait as an example of increased military presence.

But she added her department is ensuring its proposals for the Indo-Pacific can be achieved despite the challenges it currently faces, which include difficulty recruiting for the Royal Canadian Navy.

“Those are elements that we can meet within the constraints that we’re operating under,” she said. “At the same time, you’re right, we need to continue to grow.”

—with files from Global’s Saba Aziz and Reuters