Madam Speaker, I am here tonight to urge the federal government to make the establishment of a sovereign aerial firefighting capacity fleet a core nation-building investment in the upcoming federal budget.
Wildfires across Canada are increasing in both intensity and cost, demanding bold and timely action. We saw fires rage across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland this last summer. This past fire season may not have been a record season for British Columbia, but it was certainly a record in terms of the extraordinary amount of equipment loaned from British Columbia to other provinces to help them.
I want to congratulate and thank the Province of British Columbia and Minister Ravi Parmar, the Minister of Forests, for prioritizing homes and people's lives in other provinces to ensure that their lives were protected and for ensuring that B.C. loaned the equipment in a timely way. That reality underlines the urgency.
Without a national air tanker fleet, provinces are left to shoulder the cost of aviation resources, with no guarantee that they will be available when and where they are needed most. Combatting wildfires in the climate crisis era requires a wartime level of effort. Other nations have demonstrated that repurposing retired military aircraft into civilian firefighting roles provides exactly the kind of rapid-response capability and national resilience that Canada currently lacks.
Canada has a rare opportunity to follow this proven model. By converting our retired CC-130H Hercules fleet into modern air tankers, we can protect communities, safeguard critical infrastructure and reduce the catastrophic carbon emissions released during mega fires. This approach would also ensure that retired military assets continue to serve Canadians in peacetime through life-saving civilian use.
Partnering with the private sector and first nations to retrofit a portion of the retired CC-130H Hercules fleet would create a permanent national capacity to fight wildfires. A Port Alberni-based company in my riding, Coulson Aviation, has already demonstrated global expertise in converting CC-130 aircraft and operating them as large air tankers, successfully partnering with governments in Australia, the United States and beyond.
I am therefore calling on the federal government to partner with the private sector, in collaboration with first nations partners, to retrofit a portion of Canada's retired CC-130H Hercules aircraft into large air tankers for wildfire suppression; to deploy these aircraft as part of a strengthened national wildfire response capacity, shared with provinces and territories, using them, where appropriate, for international humanitarian and emergency missions; and to prioritize this made-in-Canada solution that leverages Canadian aviation expertise, protects lives and communities and safeguards the environment. In addition to strengthening our wildfire response, these investments would create high-skilled jobs in Canada's aviation sector, support innovation in emergency response technology and enhance Canada's ability to contribute to our NATO commitments and provide mutual aid abroad in times of crisis.
I am strongly encouraging the minister and the government to ensure that funding for sovereign aerial firefighting capacity is included in the next federal budget. We cannot wait. Such an investment would save lives, strengthen our communities and build long-term resilience for Canada in the face of the climate crisis.