I'm just going to come right out and say it: Justin Trudeau isn't a nano-computing specialist, and he most certainly isn't a firefighter or wildfire specialist. When it comes to a major disaster like the wildfire facing Fort McMurray, he just doesn't have a clue what he's doing.
And yet, in this, he is showing his ability to provide leadership.
There is a process that is entrenched in our society when it comes to disaster management. In times of crisis, good well-practiced processes lead to successful outcomes. So far in Fort McMurray, in a fire significantly larger than the 2011 Slave Lake fire where 30 per cent of the town was destroyed, only 10 per cent of the structures were lost in the city.
An unprecedented evacuation was carried out with as many as 90,000 evacuees fleeing the town with 2 casualties so far, in an MVA. While that loss of life is tragic, the scale of the evacuation is a raging success.
I looked at the Public Safety Canada website and found this regarding disaster management:
Emergencies are managed first at the local level -- for example, by first responders such as medical professionals and hospitals, fire departments, the police and municipalities. Local authorities who need assistance request it from provincial or territorial governments. If an emergency escalates beyond their capabilities, the province or territory may seek assistance from the federal government. Public Safety Canada led the development of the National Emergency Response System (NERS) with provincial and territorial officials, which was approved by Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers in January 2011. The NERS enables coordinated efforts in responding to emergencies.
The Government Operations Centre (GOC) is the principal means by which the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness' leadership role in establishing an integrated approach to emergency response is exercised. Housed at Public Safety Canada, the GOC, on behalf of the Government of Canada, supports response coordination of events affecting the national interest. It brings all partners into a common environment to harmonize and synchronize collective actions of those partners. The GOC operates 24/7 to provide watch, warning, analysis, planning, logistics support and coordination across the federal government and with its partners, including provincial and territorial governments, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and international partners.
Sounds like a pretty well-thought-out process. Every level of government signed onto it. And this is how the Fort McMurray fires have been managed, with the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo taking lead until the fire had expanded beyond their capabilities.
"And so in a situation where Trudeau isn't qualified or trained to make decisions, he is listening to the guidance of the people who are educated and do this for a living."
So now today, my social media is flooded with complaints about Justin Trudeau not accepting help from Australia, Thailand and Russia to help extinguish the fire.
What an incompetent fool.
All of these countries lining up to help with the biggest fire in our nation's history, basically, and he's turning it away. Clearly he's demonstrating that he is not fit to lead.
The thing about this fire is that it is so big and so hot that it is unique, almost unheard of in Canadian history. And as a result of that it is difficult to fight. In fact, nearly impossible. And as it has grown to cover more than 2000 sq. km, the approach to fighting this fire has evolved from one of fighting the fire, to containing and directing it away from critical infrastructure and populated areas.
The Alberta Wildfire department has said that this is too big to be extinguished by humans, and the only way it's going to be put out is burning itself out, or significant periods of heavy rain. When bombers are attempting to drop water on the burning areas, it is evaporating before hitting the fires. Reports have said the fire is burning between 700 and 1000 degrees.
And so in a situation where Trudeau isn't qualified or trained to make decisions, he is listening to the guidance of the people who are educated and do this for a living. The experts. He's in his offices, working on the logistics of what they need, not out getting in the way in Fort McMurray, or pulling resources away from where they're needed for the sake of a photo op. And he's letting the heroes that have prevented a devastating situation from becoming the end of Fort McMurray do their jobs.
The Alberta department has stated that the airspace cannot safely support more air traffic than it already has. Bringing in more would create a risk, with potential for collisions.
Additionally, I don't think there's a person in their right mind that wants to open the door for Russian planes to be flying in our airspace, no matter the reason.
So yes, Trudeau has no clue what he's doing.
But he's relying on the advice and guidance of the people who do to make sure he makes good, informed decisions, doesn't overstep his bounds and Alberta gets what it needs in it's time of need.
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