Canada's military stands at the ready to come to Prince Edward Island's aid in light of a devastating ice storm, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Wednesday.
In an interview with The Guardian from Ottawa, MacKay said he's been in contact with Premier Robert Ghiz and is ready to provide immediate assistance, if it's needed.
MacKay has also briefed Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
"I became most concerned about this last night and this morning," MacKay told The Guardian Wednesday evening.
"We stand at the ready. My last words to Premier Ghiz were 'I'm a phone call away' and that phone call will put in play assistance immediately."
MacKay said if help is needed, troops can be on the ground in P.E.I. within hours.
"We will be watching this hour by hour."
Two teams have been struck to monitor the storm including one at the Department of National Defence and a second at the Office of Public Safety.
Troops have been put on standby at CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick. Those troops could be mobilized to transport fuel and generators to the province as well as remove brush and debris from around downed power lines.
A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he's being briefed regularly on the situation in Prince Edward Island.
Carolyn Stewart Olsen said the prime minister has asked MacKay, who is the minister responsible for Prince Edward Island, to stay on top of the file and provide whatever assistance the province may need.
"We are on top of it," she said Wednesday.
"If anything is needed we'll do our very best."
Ghiz said he is keeping federal help on standby.
The P.E.I. premier had a face-to-face meeting with Fred O'Brien, the president and CEO of Maritime Electric, Wednesday.
"I informed him that if indeed they say they need help with regards to the federal government, or the reserves coming, I can make that call under the Emergency Measures Act and get the help that's necessary," Ghiz said Wednesday night.
"Right now, according to Maritime Electric, they seem to have things generally under control."
The Island premier said what's critically important is what happens over the next 24 hours, and whether heavy winds knock down more power lines.
"During the ice storm in Quebec there was so much debris and trees falling down on the power lines it was taking the power company too long to get to them so they used the army to come in and help clear the way."
Earlier in the day Wednesday, the Island's four MPs called on Ottawa to come to the aid of Canada's smallest province.
Charlottetown MP Shawn Murphy said the province needs immediate federal support.
"There are families there with babies, young children, seniors living there. They can go a day without power, and they can struggle, but when it comes to that third, fourth or fifth day it gets serious," Murphy said from Ottawa.
Malpeque MP Wayne Easter compared the Island ice storm to the one that devastated Quebec and parts of Ontario in 1998.
Military on standby
MacKay will send troops to help if needed
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Comments
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- Islander in Alberta
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:42:51
JD: How can you say its a bad thing to ask for help. You must be one of the people that didnt loose there power. There is alot of youg and old families that realy need there power restored ASAP. It pretty easy to speak out when you never lost what other people need. I did not see a line in your comment that you would go and help out. (Its better to offer/ask than do nothing at all) While reading the paper on line I noticed lots of comments from you. Do you think before you speek out!
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- Tracey
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:35:52
I CANNOT beleive how ignorant so many people are as to what the canadian military does and is trained to do. It is not all about guns and war maneuvers. As for the politician's behaviour, they are doing thier jobs whch is stepping up and making sure that thier constituents get assistance in this situation. Federal help may be warranted..(since I am not there..I can't comment further..but from what I read, things have gotten pretty bad)
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- Eldon
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:32:46
JD....what the heck are our politicians there for if not to stand up and ask for support?
To John G....as a former military reservist, you better believe the military can help. I've worked with plenty of communication reservist linemen in my day and they are among the finest professionals I've known. I, myself, have been trained to help with civilian emergencies.
I can only hope that if more bodies are needed up in western PEI to get things back on, they make the call. -
- Karen
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:32:29
Maybe our premier is going to fund a study on whether or not we should bring in the military.
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- Charlie
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:29:57
Bring in the troops to help clear up the debris so the linesmen can move along with their job even faster. There are lots of trees hanging over power lines just waiting to snap. Cutting those branches now could prevent even more downed power lines should these branches topple under the weight of the ice. I never did understand why politicians wait to call in assistance from the armed forces. Is this reluctance to ask for help some sort of foolish pride or what? If the power is out more than another day or two, and the province doesn't call in the troops, it will be a big mistake on their part.
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- John
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:29:35
Just what the heck can the military do to help? They're not linemen, they wouldn't be able to clear brush or trees as well as contractors. I never heard of us having a security problem. There are lots of local residents and service clubs helping the people in need. So what can they do. I say thanks for offering and thanks for being there for us but this is not your area of expertise.
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- LA
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:29:26
John G, not their area of expertise? What do you think the army does? Possibly they might train to operate in the woods in winter conditions with chainsaws and generators and act as aide to civil authorities? And as pointed out before, Lineman is a trade, if you live in Ch'town you should know there is a whole reserve unit here that have linesmen among other things. I for one would be glad to see them providing help where help is needed. And obviously some people need help and the utility crews need backup.
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- Miss
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:28:28
Sorry to let you in on National secrets but the military do have linemen, water and sewage, generators, portable heaters, heavy equpitment (plows) and mobile kitchens. Also not to mention a large amount of a general labour. it is great to see the communities pitching but options are options.
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- Helpme i'mfreezing
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:28:25
The MPs are playing politics. If the military is required, then the premier and his cabinet must ask, not MPs. The military would be more than able to assisst in this critical time. Their skills are too numerous to mention. What do you think they do in Peace Keeping operations, Haiti and yes even in Afghanistan......The call is still the Premiers.....Nice try MPs.....
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- JD
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:26:31
Can anyone say Play Politics with an Emergency Situation.
The MP's should be ashamed of themselves playing politics with this situation.
I am quite sure the Premier could call the Feds and get all the help needed should he feel he needs to do so.
Having the MP's getting into this is nothing short of crass politics and I sure islanders won;t forget this come the federal election.
Truly disgusting behavior of the part of the MP's. They must be trying to quell the damage Easter done last weekend with his story about the negative advertising. -
- Shelly
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:25:53
You've got that right Karen! Maybe they can share the same office as the ones that are going to give us tips on how low we can turn our thermostat without freezing our pipes...LOL
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- frank
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:22:13
Hey you IsLand winers.!!!!!!
Its snowing in Toronto.(HELP) -
- Transplant
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:22:01
My thanks to the many Maritime Electric Employees who worked so hard and so long to repair the storm damage and restore power to so many people. My power was restored late yesterday afternoon.
As for the people posting in this forum about being cold and having no power.. just 2 questions.
1. How are you able to post here, run down and blame others, complain about being cold, kids to worry about with no power, etc, etc, when you have no power?
2. You have some kind of new invention ... an ice-powered computer and internet service provider, or what? -
- Who's on first...
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:19:36
What surprises me the most is why isn't the Premier front and center on this emergency. He should have been up west a couple of days ago conferring with his MLA's and getting a first hand look at the damage.
It is not up to the MP's to be calling for the military to be involved. This is the Premier's call and if he runs into difficulties then he can be the one to ask for the MPs' help. The Feds seem to be more than willing to help which leads me to my next questions. When has PEI not accepted help, financial or otherwise, from the Federal Government? So why start now?
If bringing in the military will assist the Red Cross, EMO and emergency electric crews, then why not use them.
We seem to missing some key leasdership here. -
- Doc
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:19:00
JD....your keypad is moving,but once again little to no sense coming from it
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- John Wayne
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:15:26
well still in the dark with another ice storm on the way. I don't know about any of the other posters on here but we have a 1200 watt generator. I guess we now see how mr dithers responds to a emergency.
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- Tim
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:09:41
John G from Charlottetown, PEI writes: Just what the heck can the military do to help?
WOW...can't believe your audacity!
The Soldier
It is the soldier, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag,
who serves under the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag. -
- Confused
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:07:47
I am somewhat confused, was it not the four Federal Members led by Wayne Easter who approached Peter MacKay for the help.
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- G.C
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:07:34
Our ancestors were made of steel.
Keep warm everyone, and hope all gets resolved asap. -
- agree with JD
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:06:15
can you imagine Wayne Easter have the gall to ask Peter MacKay to help, after all isn't he part of the Harper dictatorship. this proves what we all know Wayne Easter is a laughingstock
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- sside
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:05:37
MAKE THE CALL!!!! And bring lots of plumbers!!! After tonight being so cold there is going to be alot of frozen pipes. Why not bring them in, we pay the same taxes as all canadians!!!! Where has common sense gone these days!!!! I am 3 days with no power. Luckily I can borrow a generator for a few hours, hack into my electrical systems and run my furnace. It will be several days yet before all power is restored.
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- sside
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:04:59
Well I guess Ghiz, his family, friends and chronies must all have power as there is a story on CBC he has announced the military are not needed and all they would be good for is removing debris. What about the other 18,000 without power?????? geeees 3 more long years eh........
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- Dave
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:02:38
Just don't tell Leo Broderick. He'll be out with his bullhorn trying to stop them from coming over the bridge...
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- Deb
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:02:11
Ten years ago we suffered through a devastating ice storm, and the military were of immeasurable assistance in many ways. Don't look a gift horse....
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- John Wayne
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:01:56
hey Robert -13 tonight and still 11000 thousand customers without power. come on make the call. I can't believe that we swept you into power up here and this is the thanks we get. DO NOT PLAY POLITICS WITH US. make the call to bring in the military to help. we don't care about maritime electrics' pride our yours. make a decision for once.
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- B. cant believe it...
- - June 21st, 2010 at 20:00:33
JD, your at it again. I can understand why Mr. Ghiz made the phone call. I dont see why you condem the man for being concerned with Island residents. I know families that are not able to stay at their home because of no power. They have an infant and they need power. If the shoe was on the other foot and another province needed the Islands help, we would be the first ones their. I live down east and I really hope that things are not worse than they were yesterday. Take care everyone up west and hats off to the maritime electric workers who are working their asses off now. Hats off to Ocean 100 for the coffee and treats for the workers. Its hard to believe that such a small gesture can mean so much.
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- Only on PEI
- - June 21st, 2010 at 19:58:21
Call should have been made 24 hours after the power went out and they knew they had 100's of poles to get back up. MOre hands, faster service, this is crazy, should not be without power this long.
I do have a question though, If these poles can not withstand these storms, why not use medal poles, would they not be better. Just thought I would ask., -
- PEI Pride
- - June 21st, 2010 at 19:55:54
While it is great for Islanders to have pride and self reliance, when it comes to exposing folks to undue hardship, it could be a little over the top. If people have to wait another 3-4 days for power, it is too much to ask.
It sounds like Maritime Electric say they can handle it and don't require help. Why not accept help when offered? If it we you or me, would we accept extra help to be comfortable, to say nothing of the problems with frozen pipes, etc. THINK FOLKS -
- John Wayne
- - June 21st, 2010 at 19:53:11
Well ghiz, what are you waiting for? is it not going to be -12 tonight. please accept the help from the military or do you need to have a study done and get back to us? I have 3 kids to worry about with no power! come on get with it!
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- Karen
- - June 21st, 2010 at 19:37:05
Yes, how dare the MP's speak up for us and call for help.... most of us just use them to get jobs or help us get our passports faster...GEEZE!
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- MS
- - June 21st, 2010 at 19:33:53
Supporting LA from PEI and TIM from MB
As a former Reserve Lineman serving under the communications branch in Charlottetown, heres my message to you JOHN G. Yes, we do exist. Believe it or not. the military's purpose is to provide protection and assistance at HOME and wherever we may be needed.
Lets just hope there aren't any more major storms on the island this year. Take care
