Rescuing Canadians stranded by Hurricane Irma is a “top priority” and the government is making “every effort” to help people affected by the “chaotic situation,” federal officials said Monday amid criticism of Ottawa’s handling of the situation.
“We are working hard to get a lot of people home today,” Freeland said at a government briefing Monday.
She said some commercial rescue flights by Air Canada and WestJet were scheduled to bring Canadians back from Turks and Caicos and St. Maarten later on Monday.
“We are very aware of how frightening, how worrying the situation is and I am not going to rest until everybody is back and safe,” Freeland told reporters on a teleconference call from Toronto.
Freeland said she will personally greet Canadian evacuees arriving on rescue flights to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
(click to listen to part of the government briefing)
ListenRelying on civilian carriers instead of the military
Ottawa evacuated 390 Canadians from St. Maarten over the weekend, government officials said.
A WestJet flight is en route to the Caribbean island divided between France and Netherlands to bring another 150 Canadians to Toronto, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said.
Flight 4906 is scheduled to depart the island at approximately 4:30 p.m. ET and will arrive in Toronto later this evening.
Priority will be given to children, families and vulnerable people. The airline is asking people to register in advance of the flight through Facebook messenger, Twitter direct message or by contacting the call centre at 1-888-937-8538.
“We are asking guests to calmly make their way to the airport for 1:30 p.m. local,” the airline said in a statement.
Air Canada also plans to bring back 90 passengers from Turks and Caicos from the island’s capital, Providenciales, Garneau said. That flight will leave at 3 p.m. ET and land in Toronto this evening.
Authorities on the island had previously blocked people from boarding a flight back to Canada, but Freeland said she has been assured that Canadians will be allowed to board Monday’s Air Canada flight.
Freeland urged all Canadians who are stranded in the storm-affected region and have not yet contacted Ottawa to call 1-613-996-8885 or email sos@international.gc.ca.
Those who have no access to a phone or email should head straight to the airports in Turks and Caicos and St. Marteen, Freeland said.
Military transport plane is also an option
A Canadian Armed Forces C-17 Globemaster heavy transport plane is on its way to the region with relief supplies and will also be able to bring some people back, she said.
Omar Alghabra, Freeland’s parliamentary secretary responsible for consular affairs, said all Canadians stranded in those two countries will be able to leave today. Others, on the neighbouring islands such as Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, will also be offered assistance.
Officials at Global Affairs Canada have fielded 2,140 calls and emails from Canadians affected by the hurricane but there are no reports of Canadian casualties, Alghabra said.
About 9,000 Canadians have registered with Global Affairs to say they were in Irma’s path. However, only 368 Canadians requested assistance, with most requesting help to get home from areas hit by the hurricane, officials said.
Response to Irma ‘slow and insufficient’: opposition
The federal government’s response to the aftermath of Hurricane Irma has come under growing criticism.
Conservative foreign affairs critic Erin O’Toole said Monday his party is concerned the government hasn’t responded quickly enough.
“We are asking [the government] to deploy Royal Canadian Air Force assets immediately to retrieve stranded Canadians who are facing delays in returning home,” O’Toole said in the statement.
Several other countries, including the U.S., the U.K. and the Netherlands, have already evacuated their citizens with military aircraft.
Hélène Laverdière, the New Democratic Party’s critic for foreign affairs, said she has heard from Canadians in the region who feel abandoned because of Ottawa’s “slow and insufficient” response to the crisis.
“The lack of communication from the government to Canadians in crisis, particularly those stranded in the Caribbean islands, is unacceptable when compared with the quick action shown by several other countries,” Laverdière said.
With files from CBC News
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