Helping at home

Seeing banners showing troubled lands far from home made me think how lucky we are to live in peaceful Canada. Of course, our northern climate sure has its own set of challenges! But thankfully, we have a well-trained military that is ready to step in and help when Mother Nature delivers an especially heavy blow.

Soldier helping a child in Quebec in 1998.
Photo: Department of National Defence

In fact, 25 years ago this coming January, the Canadian Armed Forces were there to help during one of the worst storms we ever had. The Great Ice Storm of 1998 hit hard in parts of Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. Days of freezing rain covered everything with ice so heavy that tens of thousands of power poles and trees came crashing down. It was like one big outdoor rink! That may sound fun if you want to go skating, but too much ice can be quite dangerous. Many people were stuck in their homes with no electricity or heat for weeks in the middle of winter. Brrr, I shiver at the thought of it.

To help, Canadian soldiers used their elephant-like strength to haul away broken trees and debris. They also delivered essential supplies like water, food and medicine to those who were stranded. They may not have had long trunks like me, but they still reached up high to help fix all those downed power lines. I sure feel safer knowing that our military is always ready to “stand on guard” for us, here at home.