This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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QUEEN’S PARK – NDP Energy Critic Peter Tabuns is raising questions about the Liberals ad-hoc response to the 2013 Christmas ice storm. Families across Ontario were left wondering how long they would be without power, seniors stranded in apartments, and the government’s gift-card program left people spending days in lines.
“For years, New Democrats have been asking questions about crisis preparation and climate change plans. Families expect the government to have a plan in place so they’re not left in the dark, but it’s clear from the 2013 ice storm response that the Liberals were making the plans up as they went along,” said Tabuns. “The Liberals were more interested in photo-ops than in a coordinated response. First responders, city and provincial workers and volunteers did invaluable work, but Ontarians asking questions were left wondering about how long blackouts would last and whether vulnerable neighbours would be okay. Instead of doing the hard work of preparing and creating plans, the Liberals seemed to writing the plan on the back of an envelope.”
Crisis plans should include strategies for ensuring that people have access to accurate, timely, information about when power and other services will return, ensuring that vulnerable citizens have access to appropriate supports, ensuring people with necessary medical devices have the information they need, and that there is a clear crisis management protocol in place so people have answers. There was no plan to communicate with residents who didn’t have phones, internet or television, and hospitals were left without a clear crisis plan.
“I had calls from people regarding seniors stranded in buildings without power for their elevators, unable to get to the grocery store, and at the same time families wondering when their power would come back on,” continued Tabuns. “When this storm hit, the Liberals seemed to be making up the plan as they went along. This is Canada and storms happen; that’s why there is no excuse not to be prepared.”
Tabuns noted that flooding in Toronto this past summer should have been a wake-up call for the Liberals for crisis planning and prevention.
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