Canada: Ministers discuss federal supports for wildfire season – June 1, 2023

At a news conference in Ottawa, federal ministers Jonathan Wilkinson (natural resources), Bill Blair (emergency preparedness), Patty Hajdu (Indigenous services), and Randy Boissonnault (tourism) as well as Stéphane Lauzon (parliamentary secretary, minister of rural economic development) and Sherry Romanado (Liberal MP for Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne) outline support measures for the 2023 wildfire season, given the active wildfires currently burning in several provinces. According to the ministers, the key to responding to the risk of expanded forest fires is more adequate prevention, preparation and adaption, which requires the timely and accurate communication of information to residents in potentially affected areas. The ministers also discuss the coordinated donation-matching programs between governments and the Canadian Red Cross for Alberta and Nova Scotia. A similar program is being created for the Northwest Territories through United Way.