Dane Lloyd
Parkland, Alberta · Conservative · Canada
“He is a very intelligent man who I think put forward some very reasonable amendments. We as Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois wanted to have him sit in on the meeting so he could provide his insight on the more technical nature of some of the amendments and the issues we were talking about.”
“However, ever since the government received its manufactured majority, it has not been interested in working with other parties. Now we see that it is using this programming motion to try to ram through the legislation so that we cannot scrutinize it further. I respect the members of our non-partisan public service.”
“It has been ruled unconstitutional in the European Union to mass-keep the data of people in the European Union, yet this is what the government is putting forward. Some people would say that it is not going to misuse the data and that it would have to get a warrant in this case.”
“It was over a short matter of weeks in two-hour meetings, where we had panels of very intelligent experts who had a lot to say about the legislation. Every day I was getting emails from the public safety committee clerk with new submissions and briefs.”
“Madam Speaker, the hon. member was indeed there. It was very concerning because we had the Privacy Commissioner come to committee, and I had received nothing from the Privacy Commissioner prior to the start of that meeting.”
“As such, part 1 of the legislation seeks to create a subscriber confirmation, and I think that this could be an effective way to have something that does not require a warrant and to ask electronic service providers and telecommunications companies a simple yes-or-no question: Do they provide services to an IP address, or do they provide…”
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“I talk about some of our champions in the private sector, namely the forestry sector. The forestry sector is at the front lines of battling wildfires. They have a 100-year plan, as one of my colleagues said. They know how to manage forests properly to prevent these forest fires from taking place, but unfortunately they have told me there is some legislation in place under the federal government, the Species at Risk Act, which is a good act and has an important purpose but in some ways can lead to indirect consequences. When those indirect consequences lead to the prevention of forestry management that can prevent wildfires, it leads to cases where we see these huge wildfires. We can all agree in the House that having no forests is very destructive to wildlife, and not only to wildlife but also to our communities.”
“We need to look seriously at implementing some of this indigenous knowledge again in our Parks Canada plan, to ensure we are actively managing our forests in a way that recognizes this knowledge that goes back to time immemorial. Parks Canada needs to reform its forest management practices, because we know mountain communities like Jasper and Banff are still at risk, along with all communities that border our national parks. As the Conservative shadow minister for emergency management, I get to meet industry and community stakeholders every day who are committed to advancing our nation's mitigation and management capabilities. The federal government, in partnership with all levels of government, needs to do everything it can do to promote Canada's ability to respond to natural disasters, both here at home and abroad.”
“A century of fire suppression allowed dry deadwood to build up in the park, and the pine beetle epidemic added to this risk. (2105) Now, in this role as emergency management critic, I am grateful to have met with a range of stakeholders, including somebody who shares my name. Dane de Souza is a Métis fire expert from Alberta who has told us about the importance of indigenous land stewardship. One only needs to look at photographs of what Jasper looked like over 100 years ago. It was not this endless swath of lodgepole pine; it was a mixture of forest and grasslands. The indigenous people, Dane was telling me, used to engage in prescribed burns. They found it was a very effective technique to open up new areas of the forest and protect from massive forest fires.”
“It has been four years now, and I asked a member of the government today how many water bombers and how many helicopters the Liberals have bought since they made that promise in 2021. The member could not answer, because the number is zero. When we talk about lessons learned, we know that the government needs to make investments in preparing our communities and supporting our community with the trained firefighters and equipment that they need to fight these fires. Last year, in the wake of the devastating Jasper forest fire, we saw the consequences of failure to manage our national forests. Nearly a decade ago, forestry experts like Ken Hodges and Emile Begin wrote to senior public servants and the minister of environment, urging them to fundamentally change their approach to forest management. Their knowledge and expertise were ignored.”
“He told me that when firefighters discovered that the hoses and pumps on the sprinkler systems were dismantled, they had to go into an active fire situation and risk their lives to get them put back together, so this is putting lives at risk. I want to talk about something that our federal government needs to start doing. We are not powerless in the face of these wildfires, as much as it may seem so. As I said earlier, in a question back in 2021, former prime minister Trudeau, during the election, went to British Columbia and promised that his government would spend $500 million by the next wildfire season, which would have been 2022, to train 1,000 new firefighters and to buy water bombers and helicopters. The Liberals did not achieve that by the next wildfire-fighting season. It was not even close.”
“It is timely that Mayor Williams would bring this up to me today because, back in 2017, my colleague from Kamloops—Shuswap—Central Rockies brought forward a private member's bill to strengthen criminal penalties for those who would steal or tamper with emergency equipment during emergencies. Shamefully, this private member's bill was voted down by the majority Liberal government at the time. The government needs to start taking this issue seriously. The one message that the mayor asked me to bring to the House of Commons is that we need stronger penalties for those who would take advantage and risk our communities.”
“I also want to share a message from Yellowhead County mayor, Wade Williams. Wade was telling me that, time and time again, during emergencies, there are those who take advantage of the situation. We have seen across Canada a bad side in this country. We have seen those who will go into communities while the residents are evacuated, and loot. We have seen people steal emergency equipment. We have seen people tamper with hoses and water pumps, and this most recent fire was no exception. This is unacceptable activity, and we need serious penalties for those who would commit these crimes.”
“There was an evacuation in the hamlet of Peers, and as of noon today, those families are able to return to their community, so that is some positive news here. I want to thank the first responders who worked in my riding, including the contractors and the Cat crews who work day and night to protect these small communities from the wildfire threat. I want to particularly thank Albert Bahri from Yellowhead County Protective Services and Wendell Pozniak from Alberta Wildfire Coordination Centre for their professionalism during this crisis. I also want to give a special shout-out to the team at Canadian National Railway. I am told that if it were not for the work of the Neptune firefighting trains stopping the fire at the train tracks just south of the hamlet of Peers, we would have lost the community, so I thank CN.”
“Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Provencher . Conservatives stand in solidarity with those who have been devastated by the wildfires. We know this is happening across the country, but it is particularly bad in the Prairies right now. We have almost 200 active wildfires, and over half of them are out of control. I want to thank the first responders, all those who are aiding the evacuees, and those who have opened their doors in Brandon, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and communities all across our country. They are stepping up to support our fellow Canadians, who are undergoing probably the worst time in their lives. Yesterday, in my riding, we did receive some positive news regarding the community of Yellowhead County, part of which I represent.”
“Madam Speaker, I know the member is very sincere. All of our hearts are with the evacuees, but some of the words from the Liberal government ring hollow when it comes to talking about lessons learned from these wildfires. An iPolitics article from the 2021 election, stated: Trudeau said a re-elected Liberal government would spend $500 million to train and equip 1,000 new firefighters across the country, who would be ready to spring into action before the next wildfire season. The money would also buy equipment such as water bombers and helicopters. We know that did not happen by the next wildfire season, and it has now been four years since then. Can the member, who is part of the Liberal government, tell us how many helicopters and water bombers the government has bought since that promise was made in 2021?”
“I wonder if the member could tell us a bit about the Quebec perspective on forest management and how we can do better to protect our wildlife and also protect our communities from wildfires.”
“Madam Speaker, this debate cites Manitoba and Saskatchewan, but my home province of Alberta has been impacted by these wildfires as well. A number of years ago, there was a disagreement between the Province of Quebec and the federal government related to the Species at Risk Act. One of the indirect consequences of the Species at Risk Act that I have been informed about is its impact on increasing the risk of wildfire, because if we do not clear areas of dead forest, we increase the risk that these wildfires are going to be more devastating. When these wildfires happen and devastate our forests, there is no shelter left for wildlife species like caribou.”
“With the military being increasingly called on for natural disasters, I want the member's thoughts on what needs to be done to ensure that the military is well funded and supported so its members can do whatever job they are asked to do, including fighting natural disasters.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for raising in particular Candle Lake. I know we have a mutual friend who holds that community very dear. I am glad he brought that up. Something he talked about was what Premier Moe was talking about, the surge capacity with water bombers. We know that building water bombers cannot be done overnight. We have De Havilland, now outside of Calgary, building world-class water bombers, but unfortunately all the orders for the foreseeable future are going to European countries. There is technology and equipment in this country to retrofit the Hercules, a military aircraft, to deliver water bombing.”
“The witnesses told us that, if we had explored more indigenous ways of managing fires, we could more effectively mitigate a lot of these fires we are seeing in the country. I wonder if the member had any comments on that and any thoughts she wanted to share with the House.”
“Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for sharing the experiences of her constituents in this very important debate. This past fall, I had the opportunity to sit on the environment committee, where we explored the devastation following the fire in Jasper National Park this past summer. One thing I was quite struck by was the numerous testimonies we heard from indigenous groups who talked about the history of areas such as Jasper National Park, which do not look like the Jasper National Park I grew up with. In fact, the wide swaths of lodgepole pine we see in Jasper National Park are not natural, according to indigenous oral histories. It was much more grasslands before Parks Canada moved in and brought in fire suppression.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for bringing forward this emergency debate. In my riding, there is some good news. It appears people have been able to get back home after an out-of-control wildfire was, fortunately, stopped just south of the hamlet. The member talked about the federal government's need to get involved earlier in the case of Manitoba. She is surely aware that under our legislation, it is the province that has to make a request for assistance to the federal government. Does the member have a suggestion perhaps on a way we could change the legislation so that the federal government could act more quickly in these cases? What does the member suggest we do to address the concern she has?”
“Mr. Speaker, as fires burn across the Prairies, I know I speak for everyone in the House when I say that our hearts are with all of those who have been impacted and those who are working tirelessly to protect our communities. In the wake of the Jasper fire, we learned about the devastating consequences of the poor forest management that failed to clear swaths of dead forest. Experts are now sounding the alarm that communities in national parks like Banff will face similar threats this summer. Can the government tell us what preparations, if any, have been undertaken by Parks Canada to protect communities from wildfire?”