Calling in army not a case of 'extra hands would be nice'

Canadian Armed Forces helped out when floods inundated parts of New Brunswick in 2008 and 1973, but this year, the Emergency Measures Organization says no more assistance is needed from the federal government.

That's not stopping politicians and critics on social media from saying the province should call in the army to help people with a flood that has left a trail of destruction along the lower St. John River and bodies of water connected to it.

On Monday, farmers Gary Stephens and Karen Versloot said military relief would come too late for their property at Keswick Ridge, upriver from Fredericton.

The biggest flood damage was done two weeks ago, when the water rose quickly and they were not prepared.

But there was enough warning in the south that help could have been deployed, they said.

"Sometimes you're putting people in a dangerous position when you're asking them to help evacuate when there's already a lot of water involved," Versloot said.

Two Progressive Conservative MLAs — Trevor Holder of Portland-Simonds riding in Saint John and Brian Macdonald of Fredericton West-Hanwell — criticized Premier Brian Gallant for not asking the Canadian Forces to help with flood relief.

Rothesay Mayor Nancy Grant said her community could have used more bodies as it worked to control damage from the Kennebecasis River last week and over the weekend.

"I think we could have used some help," she said. "All the help we can get would be appreciated. Town staff can only so much, volunteers can only do so much. I'm going to have to leave it at that."

But New Brunswick EMO director Greg McCallum suggested the army hasn't been needed this spring.

"Everyone's entitled to their opinion and everyone is entitled at times to be incorrect," he said when asked about the calls for military assistance.

"Lots of people have opinions on this, and there's a lot of history around military assistance. … I am not in the business of being terribly concerned with opinion, I'm concerned with the facts."

Geoffrey Downey, a spokesperson for the provincial Emergency Measures Organization, said the province and EMO do not have the power to call on a specific organization to help. That's not how the system works.

"Can we call in the military? No," he said. "What the province can do is identify a need.

"It's not a case where 'a couple of extra hands would be nice.' You have to show that your ability to address the situation has either been exhausted or you simply don't have the equipment to do it in the first place. Then you ask the federal government for help to solve a particular problem. You don't ask a particular group for them to do it."

Who foots the bill?

The federal government would decide whether to send the province a bill once all is said and done, Downey said.

In January 2017, soldiers were sent to the Acadian Peninsula to help clear debris and check on residents after a devastating ice storm. It cost the federal government $185,300, although an EMO consultant found the presence of the 200 soldiers "not necessary."

In Quebec, the army was brought in to help with evacuations and sandbagging during a prolonged flood last spring, but that was after 785 people were forced out of their homes. 

Resources not exhausted

Downey said EMO has already requested help from the federal government, and it got boats from Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.

And, he said, that was enough help. EMO isn't asking for any more for now.

"There's nothing to suggest right now that we're exhausting our resources," he said. "Needs are being met, we're in constant contact with the federal government."

Not all flood victims think the military is the solution. James and Carol Woodman lost their family cottage and they said they can't see what the military can add now.

"What can they do?," Carol asked. "Maybe help some people move some stuff, like elderly people that don't have any family or anything, maybe help them a little bit but there's not much they can do."