New MP Speaks Her Mind on Parliament Hill
The Member of Parliament for Cumberland-Colchester made her maiden speech in the House of Commons on Friday as she picked up an issue dear to her predecessor Bill Casey.
Lenore Zann tabled a petition calling for a stop to the RCMP decision to move its communications centre from Truro to Dartmouth.
Zann said, “I made a commitment to do four things as soon as I arrived in Ottawa.”
Those four things include:
- Table this petition to keep the RCMP OCC office in Truro
- My first Member’s Statement in the House of Commons would be to read the letter I received from L’Ecole Acadienne students about their School Strike for Climate and the urgency of the Climate Crisis
- My first speech would be about the need for reconciliation with First Nations and in that spirit working together with other political parties
- Talk to the Justice Minister about the need to act on human trafficking and Non-State Torture.
The petition, signed by residents of Cumberland-Colchester, calls upon the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to honour the commitment to have an independent study to thoroughly review the potential risks of moving the Nova Scotia RCMP Operational Communications Centre (OCC) and immediately halt all work related to the proposed move pending the outcome of an independent review and risk assessment.
Prior to tabling the petition, Zann met with the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety to outline her concerns about concentrating both the major Nova Scotia Emergency Communications facilities in one community.
She pointed out that reports and guidelines from all the leading emergency continuity authorities indicate that geographic separation is the main requirement for emergency communications services. These experts include the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Emergency Number Association, the National Fire Protection Association, and the RCMP themselves.
The required "geographic separation" now exists with one emergency communication centre in Truro and one in Dartmouth. The proposal to consolidate both emergency communications centres in one coastal community is the exact opposite to what is required by all recognized authorities.
“In the event of a disaster in Dartmouth,” Zann says, “Having ‘all of our eggs in one basket’ could result in all Nova Scotians being without full 911 emergency service.”
The MP will be our Tuesday radio guest on Morning Talk at 9:45.
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