QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Emergency Management and Community Resilience
Wildfire Management
October 7, 2026
Minister, welcome to the Senate. As you know, Canada has recently experienced some of the most destructive wildfire seasons on record, requiring constant operational readiness. However, under your government’s expenditure review, roughly half the positions at the Government Operations Centre have been eliminated, satellite mapping staff received layoff notices this summer and the weather radar team was completely disbanded.
How can the government possibly justify gutting federal emergency coordination capacity and disaster intelligence after some of the worst wildfire seasons on record?
Thank you for the question. It was, indeed, a very difficult wildfire season.
With respect to the Government Operations Centre, it is fully operational 24-7. It offers support before, during and after emergency situations. There are, at present, 100-plus full-time staff. There is also the ability for us to bring other cross-trained government personnel to the Government Operations Centre when we need extra people. That includes for things such as the G7 and FIFA, where additional situational awareness staff were required.
The information that you have with respect to the layoffs is not the same information I have. It is my understanding that it was back office staff and redundant staff and that we are operating with approximately 10 fewer people.
Minister, regardless of where the staff was, they are no longer available. They are not being deployed in the back office, front office or out in the field, taking care of what is clearly becoming a major crisis. Emergency readiness is not fiscal discipline, nor should public safety management get in the way of this important issue.
What explicit commitments can you give Canadians and the Senate today that your government will prioritize national readiness and implement practical, common-sense fire prevention before the next wildfire season? Clearly, after the experience we had this year, we need more of everything — not less of anything — when it comes to dealing with these terrible wildfires that are afflicting this country from coast to coast.
I assure you, senator, that, with respect to the Government Operations Centre, it is — as I indicated — fully staffed by permanent personnel. We know that the safety and well-being of Canadians are of the utmost concern during times of national emergency, and nothing that we have done will remove our commitment to those objectives. Thank you.
