Why have BC Communities been Abandoned?
A positive thing about social media is that stories which used to be the exclusive domain of large media outlets can be told by the ordinary citizen on the ground. Real time images and video can be instantaneously shared worldwide where otherwise the suffering would be done in silence.
Starting on November 15, devastating mudslides started to cut BC off from the rest of Canada. On November 17, after a formal request from the Province, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) stood up Operation LENTUS 21-06 in order to augment the Province’s flood relief efforts. They did an admirable job but now they are leaving, in particular, the RCAF announced on December 10 that they were done.
But the job is not done!
On November 17, a friend and former military flight instructor of mine, Sigmund Bering Sort, posted that he and his Cessna 172 was available for no-cost flood relief flights. Since then, he has been chronicling his and other pilots efforts to provide lifelines to cut-off BC communities.
Hope Regional Airport 
Happy to be headed home 
Loaded with essential cargo
It did not take long for Sigmund to be taken up on his offer. An Operations Specialist at Hope Regional Airport (CYHE) was already putting out calls for volunteer pilots to ‘fly the needy‘ out. First efforts were these mercy flights but it was already recognized that essential cargo flights were needed. Offers of donations and fuel for cash were starting to already trickle in.
Sigmund doing a selfie 
Local outfits coordinating relief
By December 2, the focus had shifted to cargo flights and Sigmund was making flights from Langley to Merritt. At this point, he had joined with the West Coast Pilots Association, headed by Shaun Heaps, who was coordinating a larger effort through their facilities at Langley Airport. Special mention was made of the local Sikh community stepping up during a CBC Morning Live Interview. Also in the interview, Shaun mentioned they had 40 fixed wing aircraft and 4 helicopters flying in relief efforts from Boston Bar to Merritt. A key point of the interview was he had reached out to the BC government with no response.
Another key challenge for the pilot volunteers was money for fuel to keep the operation in the air. In Sigmund’s words, “We are volunteers who are allowed to get a bit of fuel assistance with some restaurants donating some hot meals to the volunteers to keep us going – ground crew and air crew alike. My costs are mine to bear and I am not paid. I donate my time and the costs of running my aeroplane.” During the interview, Shaun stated that one day’s worth of fuel for the fleet cost $20,000.
Sigmund has continued to post news, images, and video of the enormous relief effort. Kudos has been given out to all who have been involved such as the BC General Aviation Assn, the Jewish community, the Sikh community, the Russian community, the West Coast Pilots Assn, the numerous airport facilities, etc. He stated, “The humanity in this mammoth effort is deeply moving affecting people in a very profound and humbling way. Some communities we’re flying into have received no other help. Wow! No other help?! Groceries are cut-off from oh so many people now in dire need. The grateful faces that light up when we taxi our aircraft in to unload the essential cargo literally brightens the day, and as we unload we get to hear and witness folks share their respective community plight and hunger for help, any help.“
By December 5, weeks into the relief effort, Government and the CAF had not even contacted the communities Sigmund was flying into. In a Global News article, by December 2, the pilots were helping 30 to 35 cut-off communities, many First Nations. The last correspondence I had with Sigmund on December 16 was they were increasing work to 12 to 15 hour days in preparation for Christmas. He does not have kind words for government efforts who are MIA.
The highways are severed in many, many places cutting off communities from their supply chain that’s also needed to recover from the physical damage, cut off from their jobs and similar. Some communities have been running out of basic groceries, prescriptions and similar. The volunteers that meet the arriving aircraft tell us that we are the ONLY help they’ve had. There is a political disconnect as well as a physical infrastructure disconnect for these communities. The “Emergency Disaster” playbook is in serious need of a rewrite and/or additional chapters added. This is not hard to address with immediacy of action… after all, that’s exactly what we’re doing. Governments are encouraged to step up and take over the delivery of the essential cargo today, and if they need some idea of how to assist in real time… we can do that too! Just sayin’.
Sigmund Bering Sort – Volunteer BC Flood relief pilot, December 5
Sigmund’s thoughts mirror my own regarding the overall incompetence of Canadian government’s efforts to deal with natural disasters. According to BC Emergency Management in a December 6 statement, everything was being taken care of.
It obviously is not.
As for the military’s efforts, my ire is not towards the personnel on the ground but with their spineless officers in command. Yes, they can hide behind regulations stating the Province needs to formally request CAF assistance. That is a coward’s way out. Senior officers are well aware needs still need to be met for Canadians who are struggling. Nothing is stopping them from speaking out that wrongs are being committed other than career implications. But it seems no one with big broad stripes on their sleeves has the balls to stand up for their fellow Canadians.
Thankfully, ordinary Canadians like Sigmund and the army and air force of volunteers with him are answering the call. Tells you who you can count on when the chips are down.
Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.