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By Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Peter Milobar

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Poor planning puts people’s lives, homes and businesses at stake

Jul 15, 2021 | 3:31 PM

I WAS A BIT SURPRISED when I saw the NDP use their Sound Off column space last week to tout their pandemic Restart Plan while much of the province was on fire. Then again, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised because John Horgan and the NDP seem to be sorely out of touch with the British Columbians affected by these emergencies.

We saw it with the recent heat wave a couple of weeks ago. It was clear the NDP government didn’t adequately communicate the dangers of this unprecedented event. While preparing for a heat wave is second nature to most of us in Kamloops, where many people have air conditioning or other cooling measures in place — many people in other parts of the province were caught off guard and ill-equipped to deal with the punishing heat. Tragically, more than 700 people died.

If that wasn’t shocking enough, the premier then admitted to media that his NDP government was too busy celebrating its Restart Plan and the end of the pandemic state of emergency to worry too much about the heat wave. He also said the province thought of it as simply ‘hot weather’ and not ‘catastrophic hot weather,’ which is either incredibly naïve or not entirely truthful.

We need to get to the bottom of this lack of preparedness on the NDP’s part, and this is why the Official Opposition has called for an independent review into where the government fell short, and how it can improve so we never see this kind of tragedy occur again.

John Horgan and the NDP also don’t seem to think this year’s wildfire season is much to worry about, given that they have refused to call a State of Emergency even though all signs point to the need for one.

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In the devastating 2017 wildfire season, the government called a State of Emergency on July 7. This year, by the end of June we had a raging heat wave lasting several days and a number of significant wildfires — including one which destroyed the entire town of Lytton and killed two people.

Our wildfire fighters and first responders have been working around the clock to protect people and homes. They are likely exhausted but as we all know, they are professionals who will put on a brave face and keep on going. But who really thinks they would say ‘no’ to extra resources, especially given the fact they still have three more months of fire season ahead?

The only people saying ‘no’ at this point are Premier John Horgan and his government — the very people who put their blinders on and were ill-prepared for a deadly heat wave. Saying ‘no’ to a State of Emergency is just one more act of poor planning, at the start of what will undoubtedly be a very long and very destructive fire season.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.