THE RIGHT TO ASK

Prime Minister, Premiers,

Canadians are grateful to every firefighter, pilot, emergency worker, Indigenous community, volunteer, and public servant risking their safety to protect lives and property. Their courage deserves our admiration and our thanks.

But courage on the fire line cannot substitute for preparedness before the fire begins.

Over the past several weeks, Canadians have watched communities evacuated, homes destroyed, businesses threatened, and smoke spread across the country. For many families, this has become the defining event of the summer.

As citizens, we are entitled to ask not only how we are responding today, but how we prepared yesterday.

Wildfire season is not an unforeseen catastrophe.

It is an annual certainty.

Like winter storms, spring flooding, and hurricane season, the question has never been whether it would come.

The question has always been whether Canada would be ready when it did.

That leads to a series of simple questions.

How many trained wildfire firefighters did Canada have before this fire season?

How many do we have today?

How many aircraft are available for immediate deployment?

How many are unavailable because of maintenance, staffing, or replacement?

How many experienced personnel have retired over the past decade?

How many replacements have completed their training?

What operational capability did Canada possess before the first major wildfire of this season?

These are not partisan questions.

They are the questions citizens ask of those entrusted with the stewardship of public resources.

Every government inherits responsibilities.

Every government has an obligation to leave the country better prepared than it found it.

When citizens ask these questions, they are not criticizing the firefighters, pilots, or emergency workers risking their lives today.

They are asking whether those professionals were given every possible chance to succeed before the emergency began.

No government can prevent every wildfire.

No government controls the weather.

But every government can prepare for predictable risks.

Preparation is not measured during a press conference.

It is measured when the first emergency arrives.

Canadians do not expect perfection.

We do expect competence.

We expect foresight.

We expect stewardship.

And when those expectations are not met, we expect accountability.

Not because accountability is punishment.

But because accountability is how democracies learn, improve, and prepare for the next challenge.

Respectfully,

Bryan Moir