Mr. Speaker, as I rise today to make my first statement in this House, I want to take a moment to recognize and thank the constituents of Oakville West who have honoured me by electing me to speak in the House on their behalf. I also want to thank my team and volunteers, who helped me to get elected and to stand here today.

I thank the member for Winnipeg Centre for bringing this important issue to debate this evening.

Like many Canadians, I have been watching the media reports and images of the wildfires in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and my heart goes out to everyone who is impacted. I can only imagine the devastation and the heartbreak they are feeling about having to leave their homes and the uncertainty that the next days and weeks will bring.

To the first responders who are fighting these fires, there are not enough words to thank them properly for the job they do. Every time there is a wildfire, they put life and limb on the line to keep our communities and their residents safe. I thank them for their courage, dedication and commitment.

I want to reassure Canadians and my hon. colleagues in this House that the government takes seriously its responsibility to keep our communities safe. Indeed, it has responded quickly to provide assistance and support. The Government of Canada remains committed to working with provinces, territories and whole-of-society partners to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies across the country.

The Prime Minister spoke with the Premier of Manitoba, Wab Kinew, on May 28 and is providing Canada's full support as Manitoba battles wildfires. The premier and the Prime Minister are in close contact, and the federal government is assisting Manitoba's provincial wildfire team. The government, via Indigenous Services Canada and across the board, has engaged with the impacted indigenous communities. The Minister of Emergency Management approved two requests for federal assistance from the Government of Manitoba, which were received late in the evening on May 28, to support evacuation efforts in response to the wildfires threatening these first nations communities.

Government of Canada departments have been working closely together on our response. Public Safety Canada's Government Operations Centre, which supports preparedness for and leads the coordination of the integrated federal response to all hazard events of national interest, is currently coordinating the federal response to the situation in western Canada. The Government Operations Centre is working with the Canadian Armed Forces, Canadian Coast Guard, Indigenous Services Canada and other federal and provincial partners to coordinate the response and deploy all necessary resources.

The Government Operations Centre maintains continuous communication with our federal, provincial and territorial partners, including indigenous communities, throughout the cyclical event season on a 24-7-365 basis. Every year, the Government Operations Centre works to deploy risk assessments for cyclical events such as floods, wildland fires and hurricanes, and shares with key partners that hold emergency management responsibilities. This year again, the wildland fire forecast indicated the potential for elevated fire activity in western and central Canada due to ongoing drought conditions and above-normal temperatures.

On a broader scale, the government has a number of measures in place to mitigate the risk of natural disasters as well as to respond. For example, Canada's federal-provincial-territorial emergency management strategy outlines a coordinated approach focused on proactive measures to prevent and mitigate the impacts of disasters before they occur, and the Government of Canada is committed to building resilience to these hazards. This is why the government launched the national adaptation strategy, aimed to support a shared vision for a resilient Canada. The Government of Canada is also there to support communities after large-scale natural disasters.

For over 50 years, the disaster financial assistance arrangements program has played a critical role in supporting the cost of large-scale disasters caused by natural hazards in Canada. Public Safety Canada launched a modernized disaster financial assistance arrangements program on April 1, 2025. The modernized program is the culmination of over four years of extensive collaboration. Public Safety Canada continues to work closely with provinces and territories to ensure a smooth transition to the new DFAA.

Our modernized DFAA prioritizes greater resilience and reduces disaster risk to Canadians. It empowers provinces and territories to develop tailored solutions, increased flexible funding and expanded post-disaster supports. This initiative will help to reduce the long-term costs and impacts of disasters on all Canadians. While there has not yet been a request by provinces impacted by the current wildfires, assistance through the disaster financial assistance arrangements program will be there should they decide to make a request.

The modernized DFAA covers costs for wildfires that directly threaten communities, also known as wildland-urban interface fires. Response costs; repairing, restoring and rebuilding uninsurable infrastructure; improvements to damaged infrastructure; new community or region-wide mitigation projects; and recovery supports like legal, financial or mental health counselling can be cost-shared under the disaster financial assistance arrangements program, to improve the resilience of communities that have suffered a disaster. With this new program, mitigation funding is available for any eligible disaster type under the DFAA. Therefore, provinces and territories that suffer a disaster stemming from a natural hazard, such as a wildfire, and are eligible for DFAA funding can use the DFAA to increase the resilience of the affected communities.

We know natural disasters are increasing in their frequency and severity. As such, the government is continually looking at ways it can improve mitigation strategies, emergency management response and resilience. Any one of us could be impacted by a natural disaster at any time. While natural disasters are by their very nature unpredictable, improved coordination, risk mitigation, rapid response and preparedness strategies can help minimize their impact.

In conclusion, I want to reassure the impacted communities that the government stands with them, ready to help. We are doing, and will do, all we can.

Sima Acan