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Scott Taylor: The RCAF is missing the boat, again

Role combatting wildfires makes sense

There was recently a national news story to the effect that the Liberal government is leasing 10 firefighting aircraft in advance of this year’s wildfire season.

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At present, firefighting efforts and assets are controlled and managed by the individual provinces.

This will be a federal asset that can be deployed where it will be needed most across the country. Eleanor Olszewski, the federal minister of emergency management, announced that provincial and territorial wildfire agencies can now request this leased aircraft fleet through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).

What this deal entails is the lease of four Dash 8-400 AT air tankers, which have a 10,000-litre capacity for either water or fire retardant. There are also five rotary aircraft and one spotter aircraft included in the overall lease package.

Two additional mobile forward-attack tanker bases round out the list of leased assets. These support assets can be quickly........

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