PM to visit northern B.C. as cabinet holds retreat amid wildfire crisis
NANAIMO, B.C. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his newly shuffled cabinet gathered Tuesday for a retreat on Vancouver Island, under smoke-filled skies amid a province-wide wildfire emergency.
Ministers are to discuss plans for the fall sitting of Parliament, including proposals to beef up measures aimed at protecting Canadian elections from foreign interference.
But Trudeau’s first order of business was to meet with British Columbia Premier John Horgan, who had toured one of the hardest hit areas in the northern part of the province earlier in the day with federal Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan.
“I want to start by saying, obviously, our thoughts are with all the first responders, the firefighters and the residents who are struggling through the wildfires that are raging across the province,” Trudeau said during a brief photo op at the start of his meeting with the premier.