Michael McLeod, MP for the Northwest Territories, addressed some concerns among some residents that federal representation has not been visible so far during the wildfire evacuation.
Stated one social media post on Aug. 24:
“I saw a post in my feed that asked the question: Who in the heck is Michael McLeod? That’s a darned good question, isn’t it? Where has our MP been through this emergency?
“I never see him in the news and kind of forgot he even exists. His absence and silence is something I’ll remember during the next election.”
McLeod, who has been in his hometown of Fort Providence during the evacuation, told NNSL Media in an interview on Thursday that he has not been present at wildfire information updates but has been busy as the federal representative facilitating communications between local representatives and bodies within the federal government.
“My role has been primarily to listen to concerns I’ve been hearing from people on the ground, talking to the evacuees, mayors, MLAs, chiefs and sharing their concerns with federal ministers, sharing it with the GNWT and, in some cases, with the Indigenous governments,” he said. “And of course, the issues that other people are raising continue to come forward about meetings, applications, and those things continue to happen. So it’s keeping me pretty busy.”
McLeod said he has been careful not to overstep his role in matters where the GNWT and municipality have jurisdiction.
“The Government of the Northwest Territories is an elected, responsible government that has jurisdiction over forest management and fire suppression and I’m not at the press conferences because I’m not part of the city, or the City of Yellowknife,” he explained. “I have no direction over resources or personnel in response to the wildfires. So those (city and territory) are the people that Northerners need to hear from during the events and they are best positioned to give updates on the work that’s being done.
“I have to be very careful that I don’t get involved to a point where it causes disruption. They are the decision-makers and we work well together in terms of communication and also as a government providing support.”
According to the premier’s office, McLeod hasn’t been invited to recent wildfire news conferences which have involved the territorial and municipal governments taking the lead on communications.
“MP McLeod has been in frequent contact with cabinet and staff throughout this fire season and his support is appreciated,” said Premier Caroline Cochrane in a series of written responses, Aug. 24.
“MP McLeod has not been invited to participate in the press conferences to date, as those (news conferences) have been focused on getting information from those working directly on the emergency response and leadership from communities affected.
“It is worth noting that federal departments have been engaging regularly through emergency operations, at the public service level and politically. ”
Climate change and northern disasters
McLeod has been vocal during his tenure as MP regarding the need for climate change awareness in the North and the unique impact wildfires, floods, melting permafrost and other issues related to climate change have had on the NWT.
“I’ve long said that we are on the frontlines of climate change and anyone who did not believe that before this summer should really reconsider that now,” he said, noting that this summer’s fires have “burned hotter, burned deeper and travelled faster” than in the past.
“That’s because climate change is allowing that to happen,” he asserted.
McLeod said the NWT is going to have to examine over the long term the extent to which communities can respond to these changing conditions. He listed numerous items that communities may need to be better prepared for including various types of equipment, technical expertise and better communications strategies.
“We can’t continue to fight fires the same way as we did historically and all levels of government have to recognize that,” he said. “The federal government needs to play a greater role when it comes to providing resources. Our jurisdiction here in the Northwest Territories doesn’t have enough water bombers to fight all these fires at the same time. We don’t have enough personnel to be able to fight over the fires at the same time.
“We don’t have the technical expertise in some cases to deal with all the number of fires that are burning at the same time.”
In terms of addressing overall costs from the crisis, McLeod said the Government of Canada will have a role to play, including with its Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangement, which provides financial assistance directly to provincial and territorial governments for large-scale disasters.
“One of the most important priorities governments have to deal with is making sure we minimize the financial impact of these wildfires in NWT households,” he said, noting that he expects “the most expensive disaster our territory has ever experienced to date.”