View From the Legislature

This past Thanksgiving weekend is one that many Manitobans will no doubt remember for the rest of their lives. Traditionally a time to gather together with family and friends to celebrate and offer gratitude for the blessings that we have, this long weekend thousands of Manitobans were without power or were busy cleaning up fallen trees and branches.

An unprecedented October storm walloped much of the province last week leading to upwards of 100,000 homes and businesses dealing with power outages at some point during the storm and its aftermath. Coming out of the long weekend there were still nearly 21,000 homes and businesses without power and thousands of people were evacuated from First Nations communities.

The storm, which is estimated to have damaged approximately 30,000 trees in Winnipeg alone, also triggered the use of the Winnipeg floodway and left roughly 2,700 kilometres of road unpassable at some point during the storm. With hundreds of hydro poles and transmission lines damaged during the slow moving storm, Manitoba declared a state of emergency early on Sunday morning.

And even amidst all of the challenges Manitobans have faced over the past few days, there has been much to be thankful for. Many emergency and highway personnel, along with Manitoba Hydro workers, have been on the job almost around the clock working to clear roads and highways and get power restored to those impacted. All Manitobans are grateful for the work that they have done and are doing.

There has also been assistance provided by emergency relief organizations such as the Canadian Red Cross which helped to support the evacuation of Manitoba First Nations communities to Winnipeg, Brandon and Dauphin. Volunteers were quick to begin setting up emergency shelters to welcome those who were forced to leave their home communities.

In addition, Manitoba has benefited from the assistance of our neighbors. Saskatchewan, Ontario and Minnesota were quick to offer the support of their electrical workers to assist in helping get power restored to those areas that remained without electricity. Manitoba has offered assistance to areas that have in the past had similar emergencies and the support from neighboring provinces has been greatly appreciated.

There will be many weeks of cleanup and repair following this October storm. And while it will have caused a significant hardship for many Manitobans, there is still much to be thankful for. As Manitobans always do in times of emergency, there is an extraordinary effort to assist those around us who have needed help and we have benefited from the support of our neighbors.

It will be a Thanksgiving weekend that many Manitobans will always remember. Hopefully the memory that lingers the longest is of the tremendous effort that so many Manitobans put forward to minimize the impact on those hit hardest by this unprecedented storm.