Canada prepared to provide further assistance to Australia if needed: minister

Canada is ready to provide further assistance to help the crew in Australia to combat forest fires destroy if necessary, an official said the Canadian government.

In a statement released Sunday, the foreign affairs minister François-Philippe Champagne said Canada is “deeply saddened by the death of installation and destruction” caused by the forest fires.

“I have communicated with my Australian counterpart to reaffirm that we are ready to provide further assistance is needed,” he said. “When a forest fire spread through the community of Canada, Australia answered our call for help. We are proud to do the same thing.”

Champagne said that since December 3rd, nearly 100 Canadian fire management personnel have been deployed to Australia to help battle fires, with more ready to leave immediately.

“Canada is providing expertise and assistance for Australian staff who have worked very hard and around the clock, since November,” the statement reads.

A total of 21 Canadians were deployed to Australia this weekend and eight others are scheduled to leave on Monday.

Currently, there is 65 Canadian help in Australia. They help with planning and logistics.

The first group of 21 firefighters who had been overseas since December 3 is scheduled to return next week, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center.

Since fighting began in September, more than five million hectares of land have been burned.

Officials estimated that nearly 2,000 homes were destroyed and 24 people have been killed by the fire.

In a tweet on Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would “help our friends were great to get through this.”

When wildfires spread through our communities, Australia answered our call for help. Now, Canadians are doing the same. Our two countries are close allies, and so many Canadians have connections to Australia. We’re going to help our friends get through this. https://t.co/ULxJ2yTLLV

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 5, 2020

“When a forest fire spread through our society, Australia answered our call for help,” he said. “Right now, Canada does the same thing,” he wrote. “Both our countries are close allies, and so many Canadians have a connection to Australia.”

On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron said he had spoken with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and has offered assistance to help deal with the fires.

Australian authorities were assessing the damage on Sunday of most fires last as cold conditions provided a temporary pause of fires that hit the east coast of Australia for weeks.

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