Conservative MP calls on Ottawa to do more on wildfires, criticizes forest entry ban
Speaking to reporters Wednesday in Ottawa, the Alberta MP accused Ottawa of 'inaction' on wildfires. She also blamed that lack of action for new measures restricting activities in the forests of two provinces — even though those bans were imposed by the provinces themselves.
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick last week banned hiking, fishing, camping and the use of vehicles in its forests in response to the heightened wildfire risk.
Rempel Garner said that while she understands the fear Maritimers feel, restricting individuals' movements is 'not right.'
'Whenever there's a major crisis, what the Liberal government has done by their inaction has conditioned Canadians to expect that the only response they can see out of their federal government is to restrict their movement,' Rempel Garner told reporters.
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'We're calling on the federal government to actually get serious about this issue.'
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Conservative MP Marc Dalton presented a bill last year to stiffen penalties for wildfires caused by arson. It never made it past first reading and died when Parliament was dissolved ahead of this year's election.
Rempel Garner said that's one area where the Liberals could have taken action on wildfires. She also called on the federal government to dedicate more resources to wildfire control.
In its 2021 election platform, the Liberals promised to train 1,000 community-based firefighters to fight wildfires and to work with provinces and territories to get them more firefighting planes.
Last month, Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters that Alberta-based water bomber manufacturer De Havilland was facing a four-year backlog of orders.
'Four full wildfire seasons ago, the Liberals promised more water bombers, more firefighters,' Rempel Garner said. 'Where are they?'
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston brushed off the criticisms of the forest entry ban at a press conference later Wednesday.
'I find it remarkable, the interest in travelling in Nova Scotia woods by people who aren't in Nova Scotia and probably haven't been here much in their life,' Houston told reporters.
'We're only concerned with keeping people safe. We'll do what's necessary to protect lives, and that's what we're doing in this case.'
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So far this season, the total area of the country burned by wildfires is nearly the size of the entire province of New Brunswick.
— With files from Sarah Ritchie.
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CBC
29 minutes ago
- CBC
Pipelines, policy and uncertainty shape Alberta byelection in Hardisty's oil hub
At first glance, the east-central Alberta town of Hardisty looks like many prairie communities. A semi-trailer rolls along a wide, open road beneath an expansive blue sky. An antique shop opens on the modest main street, drawing in treasure seekers for a chat and a quick barter. The popular local sports pub fills with locals ordering the daily special. Today, it's fried chicken and ribs. But just southeast of the town of about 600 residents, the landscape changes. Large tanks dot the horizon, holding millions of barrels of crude. Within Alberta's energy industry, everyone knows the name. This is the Hardisty Terminal, a critical hub in North America's oil and gas network. "If you want to get oil out of Western Canada, for the most part, almost all of it comes through Hardisty at some point," says Blake Moser, chair of the Hardisty and District Development Group. Inside the town limits, residents are proud to say that this infrastructure keeps the country's energy economy moving. 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The shop was originally purchased by Vince's father, who began with small items like porta-potties before expanding into larger gear. Even at 79, he still comes in the shop daily, as does Vince's mother, who manages invoices and submits paperwork, all without taking a paycheque. Hayden joined the operation in 2017 after working as a journeyman welder. Now married with a young child, he handles much of the day-to-day work, including water, septic and equipment deliveries. "It's good," Vince says of having the whole family under one roof. He thinks for a moment. "Well, when it's good, it's really good," Vince says. "And then, when … let's say it's slow, it's kind of stressful, because now your whole family's [tied] into it, right?" Vince and Hayden share a sense of gratitude for what the industry has brought them, and the repeat clients they can count on. As it has always been, quiet times often give way to good times. 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Vancouver Sun
2 hours ago
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Canadians are waking up to just how much power American tech companies have over their digital life. In April, Microsoft confirmed that U.S. law can override foreign privacy protections, even for data stored on servers outside the United States. That means if Canadian data is hosted by Microsoft, Amazon or Google, it can be accessed by U.S. authorities. For Guillaume Beaumier, an assistant professor of political science and international studies at École nationale d'administration publique (ENAP) in Quebec City, it's a clear sign Canada needs to take digital sovereignty seriously. In a recent Policy Options article, he argues that Canada has grown too dependent on U.S. cloud providers and tech infrastructure, and risks losing control over its economy, governance and security in the digital era. National Post spoke to Beaumier about what digital sovereignty means and what steps Canada should be taking now. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. I think you can define digital sovereignty in multiple ways, and that's the issue with the concept. It can relate to the ability of the Canadian government to control its own digital ecosystem through regulation, and having the availability to force or influence companies to act in certain ways. It's also, to some extent, the ability to have the economic independence to be able to produce digital services for Canadian citizens, in ways that are not dependent on having access to services coming from other places in the world. It can also relate more broadly to the security of the nation. If you're depending on other countries for accessing specific digital services, in times of crisis, you can end up in a position where you don't have access to the services, and so the broader security of the country also depends on having the ability to produce the services on your own. For a very long time the United States has been using its control over the digital infrastructure around the world, so a lot of the digital services that we rely on are American companies and they also rely on physical infrastructures that are located in the United States. You can think of data centres in that regard. And so, for a very long time, we were fine with it, we forgot that other countries like Russia or China, might have used this control over this digital ecosystem to its advantage, to survey the world, to sometimes even impede other countries. You can see again what happened after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, where Microsoft stopped offering some of its services in Russia. And so, like I said, for a while most countries around the world would have been fine with that, especially western countries because we were allied countries with the United States, even sometimes collaborating with them. But as the (Donald) Trump administration came in and took a more coercive approach towards its traditional allies, it's also making these countries more insecure about their dependence on the United States. I think that we do lack, to a large extent, sufficient capacity to operate on our own, to have a digital ecosystem that can function without American companies. And so, if you think about our digital ecosystem, most social media platforms, if not all, are American companies. If you think about data centres, the main ones that are operating right now and that we rely on, are either in the United States or are owned by American companies on Canadian soil. On the regulatory side, we have also seen the government struggling over the years, to enforce its own regulations, or to even want to regulate these platforms. So we threaten these companies, Google and Meta, to basically leave the country. More recently, the government decided to move back on this decision to impose digital services taxes, and it's an example of where the Canadian government seems to be struggling, because it relies primarily on American companies. So to summarize what I just said, I think just this lack of the ability to offer basic digital services by Canadian companies is one of the big gaps right now. In times of crisis, they can be used as leverage against the Canadian government, so like during this trade negotiation, they can threaten to stop offering some services to Canada. There's also the risk that when the government tries to regulate these companies, they can just threaten to exit the country. You can see in the example of Meta blocking news because of being asked to share the revenue with news organizations. This has left our media ecosystem in a worse-off position. And in times where there are forest fires or other emergencies, information can be more difficult to access by citizens. I think there should be a strategy to invest and develop more national digital ecosystems, to reduce the reliance on American companies. It also should not shy away from regulating these big tech companies and level the playing field for Canadian companies. Basically, making sure they are being taxed, and that they contribute to the national economy. Also, promoting the use of more open source software, in public administration and the digital ecosystem, could help reduce reliance on big tech companies, and prioritize the development of more digital expertise in Canada. When you're thinking of all the big projects the government wants to launch, like big national infrastructure projects, I think it would be a good moment to invest in having more data centres owned by Canadian companies, funded by the government. With the new investments coming in the defence sector, some money could go towards the development of artificial intelligence (AI). I think this broad national plan to invest in Canadian digital capacities would be an essential thing to do in the years to come. I think we just need to find a balance between still being open, we still want to rely on the valuable services that come from the United States, and elsewhere in the world, but to ensure our resilience in times of crisis, and have some basic capacities to function without the use of these services coming from the rest of the world. This is the latest in a National Post series on How Canada Wins. Read earlier instalments here . 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