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Transcription
Conférence de presse concernant les efforts de secours déployés par le Canada par suite du passage de l'ouragan Katrina
le 4 septembre 2005
Time: 1300
NOTE: Cette transcription est présentée dans la langue utilisée lors de la conférence de presse. Elle vous est fournie à titre d'information seulement. Il n'y a pas de traduction disponible.
Des représentants du gouvernement du Canada tiennent une conférence de presse concernant les efforts de secours déployés par le Canada par suite du passage de l'ouragan Katrina
PRINCIPAL(S)/PRINCIPAUX:
- Daniel Lavoie, Director General of Communications, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada
- Lieutenant-Colonel Jeremy Mansfield, Domestic Operations, Department of National Defence
- Commodore Dean McFadden, Commander Joint Task Force, Department of National Defence
- Howard Njoo, MD, MHSc, FRCPC, Associate Director General, Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response, Public Health Agency of Canada
- Robert Desjardins, Director General, Consular Affairs Bureau, Foreign Affairs Canada
- Don Shropshire, National Director, Disaster Services, Canadian Red Cross
Moderator: Good afternoon everyone for coming to the National Press Theatre here in Ottawa. What I'm going to do is I'm going to pass it over to Mr. Daniel Lavoie, Director General of Communications for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada who will introduce everyone here at the head table. For those reporters on the phone line please note we will take questions from those in the room here first then I will promise you get some questions in from those on the phone. We only have a total of 45 minutes and so here we go.
Daniel Lavoie: Alors bonjour tout le monde. Comme vous le savez le ministère de la Sécurité publique et la Protection civil Canada a été créé en décembre 2003 justement avec un mandat de coordonner les efforts du gouvernement dans les situations comme celle où on vit en ce moment, des situations d'urgence. PSEPC is coordinating the strategic response by the government to events taking place following Hurricane Katrina and this includes the coordination with the military, with Health Canada, with Transport, with security organizations and as much as possible with non-governmental organizations. Our operation centre is leading this coordination and since the start of the event it has been staffed 24 hours a day gathering and distributing information from all involved agencies in the United States, Canada and overseas. Today, we're here to update you on the actions of the Government of Canada and its response and with me are representatives of the key players in this response from Canada so far. Accompanying me are Lieutenant-Colonel Jeremy Mansfield, Domestic Operations at DND, Dr. Howard Nu, Associate Director General of the Public Health Agency, Robert Desjardins, Director General, Consular Affairs at Foreign Affairs Canada and on the phone we have Commodore Littlefield who is the Taskforce Commander for the four ships that will be leaving Halifax next week. We also have Don Shropshire, the National Director of the Canadian Red Cross. So we're trying to give you as much as we can with regards to the actions by Canada. Each official will deliver a very short statement and then we will follow with a question and answer period and we can do some one on ones at the end. So, Mr. Mansfield?
Jeremy Mansfield: Thank. I'll be followed by Commodore McFadden. Ladies and gentlemen, as you all know our close allies and friends are going through very difficult times, a situation well beyond anything we could have ever anticipated. Fortunately, things are slowly starting to improve on the ground for the thousands of citizens affected by hurricane Katrina as relief efforts expand in the southern region of the United States. A few days ago our government offered to help where we could and our neighbours have accepted that offer. As our Chief of Defence, General Hillier, said last week that's what being friends and allies is all about being there in times of need.
The Canadian forces have announced it will send three Canadian ships as part of the Government of Canada contribution to the relief efforts in the southern United States. The ships will operate with the 2nd Fleet United States Navy. The ships deploying are the, Her Majesty's Canadian ship Athabascan, an Iroquois class destroyer and HMCS Ville de Québec and HMCS Toronto. Both of these are Halifax class frigates. Three embark Sea King helicopter detachments will also deploy. The ships are scheduled to depart Halifax on 6 September and their transit time is estimated at four days. The Canadian Coast Guard ship, Sir William Alexander, will sail along with the Canadian navy vessels. The Canadian forces will also send a composite team of divers from our two fleet diving units respectively based in Esquimalt, British Columbia and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
They will be augmented by combat engineer divers from 4 Engineer Support Regiment, Gagetown, New Brunswick. Some of these divers are leaving from Victoria today on Canadian forces Hercules C-130 aircraft and they're departing for Pensacola, Florida to work with the 2nd amphibius group of the 2nd Fleet United States Navy. Others will very soon depart to join them. The divers' responsibilities will include among others the identification and removal of hazards to navigation and levy inspection. Over 35 divers, liaison and administrative staff will be part of this effort. Canada's air force is sending two CH-146 Griffin helicopters to assist the United States coast guard in covering the Boston search and rescue area over the Labour Day long weekend. This will help relieve the United States coast guard who deployed five of their six H-60 Jay Hawk helicopters to the flood relief duties in the southern US. The two Griffins come from combat support squadrons based at 5 Wing Goose Bay in Newfoundland and 3 Wing Baggotville in Quebec.
The aircraft and their crews are headed to air station Cape Cod, Massachusetts. One helicopter departed yesterday and the other is scheduled to leave today. Following a request from the United States Red Cross to the Government of Canada, the Canadian air force transported yesterday 27 Canadian Red Cross workers and other Government of Canada officials to Houston, Texas. Aujourd'hui nous aidons nos amis et voisins en difficulté. C'est un devoir pour nous d'agir et nous irons aussi loin et resterons aussi longtemps qu'il le faudra pour accomplir notre devoir. Nous joindrons nos efforts aux leurs et nous ne les laisserons pas tomber comme nos amis en feraient autant pour nous si nous vivions des moments difficiles. Overall, more than a thousand Canadian forces personnel will contribute in unison to the colossal relief efforts underway south of the border.
Moderator: So, the next speaker will be Commander Dean McFadden. Commodore, if you're ready?
Dean McFadden: Yes, I am, thanks very much. Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I must admit I feel a little disconnected from you being in Halifax and talking to you in Ottawa. Perhaps I can set the scene a bit for you by saying certainly at this operational base we have lots of activity underway. As you know we stood up a joint task force here in the Atlantic on Canada Day under Rear Admiral Dan McNeil. We didn't realize that we would bring that organization into play as quickly as we have for a real world situation of some significant magnitude but that's certainly what we're doing. Admiral McNeil spoke with his counterpart in the United States, the Commander of 2nd Fleet Vice-Admiral Fitzgerald last week and made the offer of help to him directly. That's been accepted and as Lieutenant-Colonel Mansfield has already said that is put into action a major joint operation of all elements of the Canadian forces as well as other government departments. Here in Halifax from where much but certainly not all of the operations being mounted, there has been over this last long weekend of the summer a great deal of energy and determination displayed to get the forces ready not only to provide direct aid to the Gulf States of the southern United States but also to backfill in some critical areas and allow the United States military and coast guard forces to themselves deploy south.
A quick recap, as Lieutenant-Colonel Mansfield has said we already got two Griffin helicopters committed to cover off the search and rescue operations in the Cape Cod region, Fixed Wing aircraft are covering Boston and Norfolk areas from their base in Greenwood, Nova Scotia and the fleet diving units both east and west coasts augmented by combat divers from Gagetown will be the first units ready to deploy into the southern states and as you've heard they are already in the final stages of that and will proceed today. The Maritime task group that I will initially take on Tuesday morning out of Halifax is comprised of the four ships, three navy vessels and also the Sir William Alexander and we'll be underway on Tuesday with about a four-day transit to get ourselves down into the region to be able to offer direct assistance. The intent of getting these forces under way in addition to backfilling is of course to provide a level of direct support.
One of the principles that we're using is to maintain our capacity to self-sufficient and that of course is the real strength of the amphibius force that we're going to send, it's why we're doing a great deal of liaison with the American amphibius group to be able to make sure that we can coordinate our activities with them. We will establish a forward liaison site in the southern states that will provide us with an air head such that I will be able to flow both people and material into the region that I need. But as I've said our main intent is to be able to get underway now quickly, get resources into that region as rapidly as we can and when we get there we will coordinate our actions with the United States. I appreciate that there may well be some significant questions about what actually is going and where we're headed, when and why so I'll wrap that up there and I'd be prepared to take your questions at the end as soon as somebody can direct them towards me.
Moderator: Thank you. Dr. Njoo?
Howard Njoo: Bonjour, je suis Dr. Howard Njoo, Associate Director General of the Centre for Emergency Preparedness Response at the Public Health Agency of Canada. Je suis le docteur Howard Njoo, directeur général adjoint du Centre de mesures d'interventions d'urgence de l'Agence de Santé publique du Canada. Hier soir l'agence a reçu une demande officielle du Département américain de la santé et des services sociaux pour des fournitures médicales. Yesterday night, the agency received an official request for medical supplies from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. HHS officials have requested beds, blankets, gloves, gowns, batteries, needles, surgical dressings, bandages, tongue depressors and bath towels and cloths. Les représentants des traitements ont demandé des lits, des couvertures, des gants, des blouses d'hôpital, des piles, des seringues, des pensements, des abaisses langues, des serviettes de bain et des chiffons.
The agency is finalizing with its US counterparts where best to send these supplies and the best method of transportation. The agency has also issued a travel advisory recommending that Canadian travellers postpone all non-essential travel to the affected areas. L'agence a émis un avis aux voyageurs dans lequel elle recommande aux canadiens et aux canadiennes qui désirent se rendre dans les régions touchées de retarder leur projet si leur déplacement n'est pas essentiel. If people must travel there, we recommend that they ensure that their routine immunizations for diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps and rubella are up to date. We also recommend immunization against typhoid and hepatitis A, as well hepatitis B immunization is recommended for those who will be working with either patients or victims. Si le déplacement est essentiel, les voyageurs sont invités à s'assurer que leurs vaccins réguliers don't les vaccins contre la diphtérie, le tétanos, la polio, la rougeole, les oreillons et la rubiole sont à jour. De plus les vaccins contre la typhoïde et l'hepatitie A sont recommandés. Les voyageurs devraient songer à recevoir le vaccin contre l'hepatitie B si ils sont sensé de travailler auprès des personnes malades ou des victimes. Thank you, merci.
Moderator: Monsieur Desjardins?
Robert Desjardins: Merci. Throughout this crisis our priority has been to locate and assist citizens in the affected area. To that end our embassy in Washington and our consulates in Dallas, Houston and Atlanta have deployed all resources to that end. We have worked around the clock with American authorities in charge of the effort both in Washington and on the ground. Du personnel consulaire supplémentaire en provenance d'Ottawa, ainsi que d'autres missions aux États-Unis a été déployé à Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Baton Rouge et Lafayette. Le Centre des opérations du ministères des Affairs étrangères demeure ouvert 24 heures par jour 7 jours par semaine et le numéro de téléphone 1-800 est accessible en tout temps. As of this morning the consular situation is as follows. In the last 24 hours we have assisted 21 Canadians who were evacuated from New Orleans. In the states of Alabama and Florida, there are no consular cases outstanding. In Mississippi there are 28 cases, four of which are tourists to whom we are currently providing assistance. The remainder are permanent residents of Mississippi. In Louisiana there are 32 known cases. Of these 5 are tourists in New Orleans area, the remainder are permanent residents of Louisiana. These numbers could vary in the days ahead. As you know, the number of Canadian citizens residing permanently in the United States is substantial and it is therefore not possible to have a complete and accurate assessment of how many citizens or dual citizens may be willing to stay or come back to Canada. We can only go by direct reports from either affected individuals themselves, their families or friends. Nous ne ménageons aucun effort afin de venir en aide à nos citoyens affectés par cette tragédie. Au fur et à mesure que la situation évoluera nous ferons les mises à jour nécessaires. Merci.
Mediator: Thank you. And finally Mr. Shropshire?
Don Shropshire: Good afternoon. Over the course of the last week the Red Cross and the United States has been working directly with the people that have been evacuated from their homes. They've had over 4,000 volunteers and staff that have been initially pre-deployed in the surrounding states and as soon as the hurricane hit landfall they were immediately deployed to the affected areas as soon as it was safe to do so to provide emergency assistance and they are of course working with the local governments to make sure that the overall work is coordinated. The Canadian Red Cross received a call the first day when the storm hit. We immediately began our recruitment efforts. We've so far deployed 37 volunteers. We're expecting that by the time this is over and let's be clear this is likely going to take several months, this is not going to be an effort that we need to sprint. This is going to be a long distance event so we're expecting that it will be several hundred Canadian volunteers that will go down to work with the Red Cross in the affected area and over the past several years we've actually had over 3,500 volunteers that have worked in that capacity in a variety of catastrophic events.
So there's a strong history of cooperation and support and as our colleague from the armed forces has pointed out we've got some friends in trouble and we're trying to do whatever we can to support them. The other thing that's needed is donations. We've had a huge response from Canadian donors, people that have seen the terrifying pictures on the news. People have wanted to find a way to contribute and we've facilitated that by collecting donations. Those donations will be transferred to the American Red Cross to support their immediate relief efforts. The President of the American Red Cross Marty Evans has reported that they had 20 million dollars in their disaster relief fund to support the initial efforts and that's what supported their deployment. But this is going to be well over 100 million dollars, it will be huge by any magnitude of reckoning and the cash donations are definitely the way if we're going to provide the best support and the most flexible support for the people that are on the ground that are doing the assessment and determining what help is needed.
The other big thing that's happening, as our friends from Consular Affairs have already mentioned, is that people want information. They want information about their loved ones, they want to find out whether their family and friends are safe. In addition with Consular Affairs we've been working with the American Red Cross to provide disaster welfare inquiries, finding people in particular those that are vulnerable, people who might have medical conditions that are urgently in need of assistance. So we're helping provide support to people, to try and track down people and make sure that they're safe and sound. So those are the three principal things that we've been doing to date. The information management, the care for the people in the shelters and providing emergency feeding along with our friends in the American Red Cross and we're expecting that's going to go on for several months yet to come. Thank you.
Moderator: Great, thank you. For those in the room we'll do one question, one follow-up and if we need a second round we will do a second round. The first question ..inaudible..
Question: Hi, this is specifically for Dr. Njoo and Mr. Shropshire but the rest of panel can feel free to answer as well. The fact that the world's wealthiest, most powerful nation is asking a country like Canada for tongue depressors and beds, cloths, syringes, etc., what does this tell us about the state of emergency preparedness in the United States?
Don Shropshire: I'll take a first cut. This is a catastrophic disaster and when you talk to anybody that does emergency planning they'll tell you that first and foremost you put your plans in place but you don't plan always the sufficient resources to respond to something this catastrophic and that's where we come into mutual aid assistance, we come into relying on our friends and other communities to come to the fore when there is a catastrophic event and that's exactly what's happened with the United States. When we do disaster planning whether it's in Canada or in the States I think it's with the recognition that there's always trade-offs. You know, if you put money into preparedness, there's other money that's not spent on health care and other events. So, I think that when people are judging what's been happening, what we really have to judge is how fast can we mobilize the entire effort and I think it's a great step forward that people are asking for additional assistance. I think it shows that there's lots of support out there and that we can actually do a good job if we work better together and as it relates to our work initially we've determined that we're going to be there to help with the immediate relief supplies. I think the United States has a huge capacity but on the front end they don't want people to be waiting and suffering while the help arrives. So in the long term I think they're going to be really well positioned but right now there's a lot of emergency relief that's needed.
Howard Njoo: Basically I would echo Don's comments. Certainly our American friends are in a time of need and our Minister of Health made the offer of our national emergency assistance to our American friends and our colleagues at Health and Human Services did take us up on our offer. It's really a beginning of I think an integrated effort. We're certainly going to be looking at possibly supplying more to them as the situation evolves and this is just the starting point in terms of what we can give to our American friends.
Question: Okay as a follow-up perhaps on my original question then, it comes as a bit of a surprise that basic supplies like tongue depressors, syringes or insufficient supplies like you say at the front end. As time moves forward will it be the same kind of supplies that the United States will be needing from us or will it be more sophisticated to use that kind of term, like sophisticated medical equipment that they'll be seeking?
Howard Njoo: I can take a first shot. At this point we're sending basic supplies because that's, those are the types of items which could be used readily in a number of settings. We're actually in discussion with our American colleagues in terms of sending possibly mobile hospitals and other more sophisticated equipment as you put it but we need to make sure that we integrate with where it can be best used in the best possible way.
Moderator: Thank you. Next question, Jim Brown, Canadian Press.
Question: Dr. Njoo, you listed some of the things that you're sending. Could you give us idea of the quantities and how fast it can be there?
Howard Njoo: Quantities are usually in the neighbourhood of about several thousands for things such as blankets and so on. I don't have the, I can't give you the exact numbers but certainly it's in the neighbourhood of 7,000 disposal blankets, 6,000 examination gloves and so on. We're actually in the process right now of finalizing the destination, where we're going to be sending it to in the US and we're in the process of coordinating with Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada in terms of arranging for air transport.
Question: Not necessarily going to New Orleans, it could be going to other affected areas?
Howard Njoo: Oh definitely. It won't be going directly to New Orleans. We're looking at sites, staging areas outside of the affected area.
Question: A different question to Mr. Desjardins. Have you been able to get consular personnel into New Orleans and on the ground to make contact with people directly? Apparently there's been some difficulty there. Are you satisfied that any Canadians you've located are physically safe given the lack of security in New Orleans?
Robert Desjardins: Well local authorities have prevented foreign representatives from accessing that city which is, which was and probably in some areas still is in a chaotic situation but we do certainly have, we have worked and continue to work with local authorities and local contacts on the ground in New Orleans to reach our citizens and to bring assistance to them. As I mentioned we know of five people who may be still in New Orleans but we cannot confirm their location. These people could also have been evacuated and we have not heard about them or from them since.
Question: I take it the only way you know someone is there is if they contact you or contact their family in Canada.
Robert Desjardins: Well some people have been able through cellular phone or land lines, pay phones actually, to reach family and we have been in touch with them through family here in Canada. It's quite remarkable that, you know, pay phones could be one of the few things that worked.
Moderator: Next question, Ben O'Hara Burn, Global TV.
Question: ..inaudible.. people have been asking me if the media could get into New Orleans and if lots of people found a way into New Orleans that wanted to be there, how come consular officials took no for answer when there were Canadians on the ground in New Orleans obviously waiting?
Robert Desjardins: Well our ability to operate in the United States of course is governed by the rules enacted by the State Department and we certainly have to comply with the requests that are made by the American government. I'm not sure that the media was allowed to go, I mean media found their way there but we certainly have tried to get there ourselves. But as I said we were able to work with local authorities and with local contacts in New Orleans to get to our citizens.
Question: Are you looking at revamping those plans for the future? Have you learned anything already out of this that you might want to change?
Robert Desjardins: Well we know that when we have a disaster of that proportion it's always extremely difficult to figure out how best to come to the rescue. The situation in New Orleans was chaotic and also there were serious security concerns with reports of snipers, you know, shooting in all directions. So there was a situation on the ground that prompted local authorities to ask foreign representatives not to try to enter the city.
Question: ..inaudible.. Lieutenant-Colonel Mansfield or Commodore McFadden on the line. Can you explain what exactly we're sending in those three ships and coast guard vessel, what precisely will be on the ships and have the Americans asked for that or are we just putting what we think they may need and sending it down hoping they'll take it?
Jeremy Mansfield: I think I'll defer that to Commodore McFadden as the Commander of the task force, task group. Sir?
Dean McFadden: Yeah, thanks very much. There's a range of material that we're putting into the ships based upon two things. One, what type of material are best estimates identifying will be needed and of course that's being modified with ongoing discussions with American trends with respect to what do they think they need but the type of the materials that we're putting on board are such things as modular tents, so about 1,800 people to be able to be accommodated, cots, water containers, toiletry kits both male and female, numbers of those measure in thousands, in addition to some material that we have no doubt people would need to be able to make use of if they can get their hands on them. Sun screen, insect repellent, first aid kits, in addition to what we see as the ability to be able to provide material for personal assistance. One of the things that we continue to be in negotiation to refine our needs is with respect to the medical supplies that would be needed and we have put those types of questions out to American authorities and we're also coordinating that to the regional directors, representatives here for PSEPC. So Joanne Scharf in our region is also engaged in identifying what medical supplies given the anticipated level of disease that is likely to develop that we would embark. So what we've done is essentially produced as much volumetric capacity as we can making sure that things that we don't need to take for this type of humanitarian operation are taken off the ship to create space to put those types of things on board.
Jeremy Mansfield: I'll answer the second part of your question in terms of the request and the methodology. On Friday the Government of Canada sent a diplomatic note through our embassy in Washington to our American colleagues effectively seeking permission to assist and that's the way that's handled. The response was verbal initially from the Secretary of Defence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. That has now been followed up and we're in the process of getting the formal diplomatic note which says yes we would like you to help but their response has been very enthusiastic and obviously that was preceded by a lot of informal discussions through our embedded liaison team both at North Com and in CDOS Washington.
Moderator: Next question, Brian L..., Globe and Mail.
Question: Yeah, I'm just wondering if anyone up there can give some idea of what the total cost of the mission to the federal government I mean?
Robert Desjardins: It's too early to tell. I mean we're operating independently but in a coordinated manner but certainly the cost of this is impossible to assess at this early juncture.
Question: Do you have costs for your individual divisions or...
Jeremy Mansfield: We're going to minimize the cost capture. We have methods by which we can track expenditures and so each time we issue a tasking we make sure that those people tasked allocate and let us know how much that particular activity costs.
Question: Are we talking tens of millions of dollars here?
Jeremy Mansfield: It really is premature to speculate on that.
Question: A follow-up with Mr. Shropshire, I guess it is. Do you have an indication of just how stretched volunteer workers and Red Cross workers are given what you had to deal with in southeast Asia with respect to the tsunami?
Don Shropshire: I think there's two pieces. On the ground in the States they've got about 20 to 25,000 people that are actually American Red Cross disaster relief workers. In Canada we have about 7,000 and I think you're quite right, we're very conscious of the fact that a lot of those people were working heavily since last fall when we had a very busy hurricane season and then we ran into the tsunami and folks in Alberta have been busy responding to floods. So it's something that we've definitely taken into consideration when we've launched the number of people that we have and also recognizing that this is not going to be something that's over in two or three weeks. Long after the States from the front pages I think what we're going to have is a lot of people that are going need help over an extended period of time. So, we've worked with the Americans, we've been trying to map out how we can recognize that our people need a chance to be fresh when they go because they're going to be facing some horrendous conditions and I'd expect that we'll probably several hundred people that are going to be down there overall but a lot of the people we're making sure that they're considering what they're going to be facing, that they're going down there with their eyes open.
Question: In a typical year would you have, sorry John.
Moderator: I'll let you sneak one more in Brian.
Question: In a typical year would you have more people available?
Don Shropshire: In a typical year we'd probably have more people available on the front end but we're also conscious of the fact that we need to have people here at home as well because disasters could strike at any time.
Moderator: Next question, Simon Doyle, National Post.
Question: A question for the Canadian forces, you mentioned that divers are being deployed first. Is it that because they're a priority and if so can you explain why.
Jeremy Mansfield: I think it's fair to say that on the ground one of the biggest problems right now is just to sort out what needs to be done first. We were asked to supply divers, the American navy obviously has a lot of divers, but to augment their divers and our divers will be working hand in hand with them. I mentioned the task that they will be going, that they will be undergoing, removing hazards to navigation. As you can appreciate the barges and structures that were all over that area have now, many of them and we don't know how many, have been washed into the sea and we don't know where. So before you can get shipping back into the harbours, the various harbours, and you can have safe maritime travel in that area you've got to first of all clear those things away and that's what our divers initially will be engaged in but they also have the capacity to do what we're calling levy inspection or whether the levy was breached and our divers will be able to assist in inspecting those levies and then follow-on activities.
Question: How big of a role will the Canadian divers play in that repair of the levies?
Jeremy Mansfield: I cannot comment on the repair. I can certainly comment in terms of the proportion. 35 divers will be a substantial commitment in terms of the divers that are in that area. It is a significant contribution for that specific niche capability that we provide.
Question: ..inaudible.. how many you need?
Jeremy Mansfield: Yeah, I have a rough figure but I would just leave it to say that it is a significant proportion. It's certainly not in the hundreds that the American are providing. I don't have that information right now.
Moderator: I'll take one final question from the room. For those on the phone lines we will go to the phone lines following this question. Gilbert Legrand, Reuters.
Question: Dr. Njoo, I'd just like a clarification. You talked about medicine for diphtheria, tetanus, polio, etc. Is that what your department is recommending to Canadian travellers going to the affected area or are these medicines that the Government of Canada is supplying to the United States to help the victims?
Howard Njoo: Those are recommendations for immunizations that Canadians if they have to travel to the area should have up to date.
Question: Will Canada be supplying any prescription medication?
Howard Njoo: We haven't had a request yet for that at this point in time.
Question: But if they, if the United States were to ask?
Howard Njoo: Certainly we would be able to consider that request.
Moderator: Operator, we're ready to take some calls from the phone lines please.
Operator: This is the conference operator. I'd like to remind all participants that you may ask a question of make comments by pressing * followed by the number 1 on your telephone keypad. Ici l'opératrice, j'aimerais vous rappeller que vous pouvez poser une question ou faire un commentaire en appuyant * suivi du 1 sur votre clavier téléphonique. Veuillez patienter un instant pendant que nous compilons les questions. We'll now pause a moment to compile the queue roster. Your first question comes from, votre première question vient de la part de Jason T.., Toronto Sun.
Question: Hi, once again just wondering, a clarification of the numbers of Canadians still there. Is it still the five people not been heard from?
Robert Desjardins: Those are the people who are known to have been or could still be in the City of New Orleans. So that's indeed the number of five. Four of those were in the Super Dome last time we heard from them and there's another whose whereabouts we don't know. So at this moment there are possibly five people in New Orleans that we are trying to locate if they are still there.
Question: And these people have been in contact with the officials or with their families.
Robert Desjardins: With families, that's correct.
Question: Okay. Are there still a number of people that haven't been heard from period?
Robert Desjardins: That's possible both tourists and permanent residents but certainly we think that through the number of calls we got from families and friends I think that we have captured probably most of the tourists who were in that area at the time.
Moderator: Opératrice, la prochaine question s'il vous plaît.
Operator: There are no more questions at this time. Il n'y a plus de questions en ce moment. Please go ahead.
Moderator: Anyone else in the room? Ben from Global?
Question: Could you talk about what we're providing and just how able we are to provide it? When you talk about a stockpile system and they're request. How much of that stuff do we have stockpiled and ready to go and how fast really do you think you can get it to where it has to go?
Jeremy Mansfield: We've already put together the items requested in our warehouse. At this point we're arranging for air transport and the Americans have had discussions with us in terms of an actual location where we should send it to. So it should be happening within I would imagine the next 24 hours or so.
Dean McFadden: If I can add, this is Commodore McFadden in Halifax, but one of the reasons why a naval and maritime task group is so important at this phase is because what we're able to do by employing those types of resources is not make use of the infrastructure, the very limited amount of infrastructure that's left on the ground and so the problem isn't only identifying what material from your stockpile is you want to move but also coordinating how you can flow that into a very limited resource space in the United States that's close to the area that you want to provide the help. One of the things that we're able to do by an amphibius force is being able to put that onto ships consequently we maintain a self-sustained capacity such that we can deploy it from the sea. That makes the flow somewhat longer than it would take being able to fly an aircraft in and we have already started the process of figuring where we could send that type of material but being able to use ships to get down into that region of course allows us to have a substantial volume of material that we can move without needing to draw upon what are very limited resources and without having to then set up a coordination cycle of what lands first, what lands second, etc. So it's not just the issue of what materials we have stockpiled that we can move but what's the most efficient means for us to get it as close as possible to the area where we think it's needed.
Moderator: A final question from the room, it would be from Brian L.., Globe and Mail.
Question: Just on that point, do you have a sense of departure date and arrival time of the navy vessels?
Dean McFadden: I would expect that we'll have the four ships, that's three of the navy and the coast guard vessel, would all get underway, I would expect to have them gone on Tuesday and in about four-day transit to get us down there. The ships obviously have a range of speeds at which they can travel and we will coordinate the movement of that group with American support in the vicinity of Norfolk as well to be able to ensure that when we arrive we're fully gassed up and can stay in the are as long as possible. But departing on Tuesday and by the end of the week we'll be in the area of operation.
Moderator: A final final question from the room is from Simon Doyle, National Post.
Question: I wonder if you could clarify what, like where the personnel will be deployed and what you meant by backfilling I guess the American personnel? Can you clarify that?
Dean McFadden: My comment in the opening statement was that the backfill is essentially being done in many of the areas that the United States have identified. They wish to move their own resources further south and so as Lieutenant-Colonel Mansfield had mentioned Griffin helicopters have been identified to cover off any search and rescue capacity for the Cape Cod area. Fixed Wing aircraft are doing the same thing in Boston and Norfolk. The intent of course is to allow the United States to deploy their own resources further south as we maintain a watch in what as you'll appreciate is a very busy summer season. It's the end of the summer cycle so lots of folks are out on the water. We've got good weather in the Atlantic, it's been a while coming so we don't want to leave that are uncovered.
Moderator: Before I end it here I just want to let you know, for the reporters on the line and reporters in the room, the Deputy Prime Minister will be available this afternoon in Edmonton between 3:00 and 4:00 local time. You just have to get in touch with Alex Swan and Alex is at 991-2863, that's Alex's phone number and they'll work out the details with you. Gentlemen, that's it. Thank you.
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