Justin Trudeau visits ice storm victims on Acadian Peninsula
Prime minister visiting warming centres and a military station in Neguac and Lamèque
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has arrived on the Acadian Peninsula to visit ice storm victims and volunteers.
Trudeau arrived in Lamèque, his second stop, at around 7:15 p.m., where he spoke to more than 300 people at a warming centre at Notre-Dame-des-Flots church.
There, he was joined on stage by Premier Brian Gallant, Fisheries and Oceans Minister and Beauséjour MP Dominic LeBlanc, and local MP Serge Cormier.
Speaking French, Trudeau told the audience members that they are extraordinary.
After joking, in French, that he had been there before during the Tintamarre in nearby Caraquet, Trudeau said that the country is here for New Brunswickers and knows that this is a difficult time for them.
He added that he is proud to see the army in New Brunswick and is proud of its leadership.
In English, he said the heart of being Canadian is being there for each other.
While in Lamèque, Trudeau planned to visit the military operations centre to thank personnel who have helped with the cleanup for the past week.
Trudeau's first stop was at the Royal Canadian Legion in Neguac, where he arrived around 6:30 p.m., about 50 minutes behind schedule.
Trudeau told the crowd in Neguac the most vulnerable storm victims will continue to receive help in the coming weeks and months.
After spending about 30 minutes in the legion, which has served as a warming centre, Trudeau departed for Lamèque, about an hour away by vehicle.
The prime minister is not scheduled to speak with reporters during his visit to the Acadian Peninsula.
Trudeau was in Quebec City on Friday afternoon, attending funeral services for three of the victims of a shooting at a mosque.
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3,500 outages remain
Some of the impact from the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBstorm?src=hash">#NBstorm</a> can be seen from inside your car - and stepping outside sounds like a forest of wind chimes. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cbcnb?src=hash">#cbcnb</a> <a href="https://t.co/trARGLglFJ">pic.twitter.com/trARGLglFJ</a>
—@ChrisEnsingCBCAt about 4:30 p.m. on Friday, NB Power reported 2,888 customers remained without service. All but 38 of them were on the Acadian Peninsula.
At its height, more than 130,000 customers across the province were without power. In total, about 200,000 customers have been affected.
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Tracadie expected to lift state of emergency
On Thursday, the Town of Shippagan lifted a state of emergency, and Tracadie was expected to do the same Friday.
About 1,000 households remained without power in the municipality Thursday morning, general manager Denis Poirier said in an interview with CBC.
But town officials decided they will likely lift the state of emergency declared last Friday, since services to help the town will continue, he said.
"We can declare it again if we need," Poirier said.
After experiencing a shortage of food and water in Tracadie, the local food bank is receiving money from the province to help people affected by the storm.
The manager of the Au Rayon d'Espoir food bank, Roger St. Pierre, said the organization looked after 138 people this week. On a regular, busy day, they feed about 40 residents, he said.
Carbon monoxide cases climb
Despite two deaths and dozens of hospitalizations resulting from carbon monoxide poisoning in the wake of last week's ice storm, some people continue to flirt with danger by using generators and other flame-burning devices in their homes and garages, NB Power president Gaëtan Thomas said Thursday.
The number of people to be hospitalized from carbon monoxide poisoning has now risen to 45.
"There are still stories — I saw it personally — of people trying to use … barbecues or generators inside the house, inside the garage," said Thomas.
"With all the communication we did, it's still happening."
With files from Viola Pruss