Prince George-Mackenzie Liberal MLA Mike Morris is one of several in his party that are pressuring the NDP government to release the Freedom of Information requests from the wildfires this summer.
This concerns property owners who need to rebuild their homes or structures that were destroyed, most notably in the Cariboo region including 100 Mile House and Williams Lake.
It’s equally as crucial for those in dire circumstances according to Morris.
“For those who do not have insurance because they are too remote or whatever the reason might be, they may be making a claim and it’s important they understand the steps the province took to protect their property during the fires.”
He is also of the opinion that the political uncertainty that surrounded the province since the spring, which culminated in the NDP taking power in the summer didn’t help either.
“I think its a tendency by this current government to tell everybody to hold off and they need to get permission from the ministers before anything happens and of course, this slows the entire process down, it bogs everything down because there is so much happening.”
Morris adds people from across the north should already be preparing any property they have in the event a wildfire season like occurs again.
“We have got people in the Cariboo that have lost everything, they’re house, outbuildings, all of their keepsakes as everything has been destroyed. That’s a travesty that too many people are going through right now but we need to be mindful of this as we move forward.”
“We live in an area in Prince George where the impact of interface fires is a real and present danger, so we have to do everything we can to fireproof our homes and properties.”
Cariboo North MLA Coralee Oakes brought the issue up last month in the Legislature in Victoria and spoke about it again on two other occasions.
A link to her thoughts on the issue can be found here.