We are standing with you.
That was the message from Canada’s Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale who was joined with Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities Carla Qualtrough, Cariboo Prince George MP Todd Doherty, and provincial and local officials, Saturday morning at the College of New Caledonia.
“When I say we, I mean every level of government and across every partisan and distinction. People of British Columbia can be reassured that we will be doing every thing humanly possible to provide a seamless and complete response to help them through this difficult time.”
Goodale says there are several phases to a disaster; the first being emergency response then the long process of restoration and recovery.
He says the first responders some of whom are paid, others who are volunteers, are extraordinary people and have put together a remarkable response that is providing terrific support to people who really need it.
Money for economic restoration according to Goodale is being calculated on all levels of government.
“There’s an established formula for dealing with disasters…The first portion of the expenses under the formula are the responsibility of the province. When the dollar value rises above the capacity of the province to cover that then the federal resources click in on a rising scale and if the losses are truly significant then that scale can go all the way up to 90%.”
“The arithmetic takes some time; the expenses are still accumulating…but cash flow is not the immediate issue.”
Goodale says that there are a great number of tangible and in-kind services that the Government of Canada is providing right now and will continue to provide which includes bringing in the services of the Canadian Forces, augmenting the capacity of the RCMP, and providing cots and other necessities under the Public Health Agency of Canada.
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