People who have been kicked out of hotels in Calgary should phone 311 to be directed to a shelter, say Alberta’s provincial political leaders.
Deputy premier Mike Ellis said the Alberta Emergency Management Agency did not know how many NWT residents in hotels were told to leave for evacuation centres.
Premier Danielle Smith said she was aware of a couple of individuals being kicked out of hotels because of disruptions, and that shelter space and group housing are being arranged with a facility that has single rooms and an open area.
She advised people looking for a shelter to call 311. If people don’t have a cellphone, Ellis said they can use a phone at the shelter or stop a police officer and ask to have a call made.
“There are many ways to use a phone to contact 311,” he said during a Friday afternoon press conference, held after Smith and NWT Premier Caroline Cochrane toured the Calgary Evacuation Centre.
Cochrane said she was not going to generalize why individuals were being removed from hotels, noting that people are evicted for a wide variety of reasons.
“Most people in the Northwest Territories are very kind,” she said. “My concern is that people wouldn’t end up in the streets. It’s hard here and many people aren’t used to it… many of the people of the North have never left the North. They’re not used to the big cities.
“So I’m glad to hear the Alberta government has recognized that,” Cochrane added.
The NWT premier renewed her call for the remaining people under wildfire evacuation order to leave the territory.
“They not only put themselves at risk, they put our fire fighters at risk,” she said. “If you care about the people fighting these fires, please leave. You’re putting firefighters as young as my children at risk.”
Cochrane noted the wildfires that have ravaged the North were caused by climate change. She called on the federal government to expand infrastructure in the North to provide better support for communities as climate change progresses.
“If this happens again next year, whose fault is it if we can’t get people out?” she asked rhetorically. “I’m tired of asking for infrastructure. Now I’m angry. I need every single Canadian to say that it is not OK.
“We are Canadians and we deserve the same,” she said.
She also expressed appreciation for the generous nature of Albertans who have welcomed NWT evacuees into their province.
“The amount of people who were standing on the roads, giving out water. I can’t express how much it meant to us,” said Cochrane.
When a reporter asked Smith if she felt climate change was responsible for the increase in wildfires, she didn’t say yes or no, but suggested wildfires would become a regular part of life in Canada’s future summers.