Ottawa helped in Caribbean

THE SPECTATOR’S VIEW

The Canadians who have felt the full fury of hurricane Irma deserve our sympathy and our help.

Whether they journeyed to the Caribbean region to vacation, study or work, they woke up last week in a terrifying danger zone facing torrential rains, galeforce winds and surging seas.

It is reasonable for Canadians caught up in such fraught circumstances to turn to the government in Ottawa — their government — for help.

What is not entirely reasonable is the harsh criticism some of these Canadians have hurled at the federal government, which they claim was too slow in bringing them back to Canada.

Their frustration is not hard to fathom and is surely a byproduct of being frightened, exhausted and hungry for days on end.

But these people should temper their expectations and control their tempers.

From the start of this crisis, the federal government has been faithfully trying to help them.

And, indeed, it is helping get them back home with, thankfully, no reports of a Canadian death. This was an exceptional crisis. It was the strongest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic basin and devastated countless, small Caribbean islands before crashing into the Bahamas, Cuba and Florida.

There were thousands of Canadians spread across many islands and nations in the region when Irma hit.

People from around the world — not only Canada — found themselves trying to flee this catastrophe at the most difficult time to travel.

A host of countries were scrambling to deliver relief assistance to the region’s stricken inhabitants who needed — and still need — our help most of all.

Meanwhile, the storm had heavily damaged the infrastructure essential for people to communicate and for large passenger airplanes to take off.

Given that these were the cards dealt to the Canadian government, it can be excused for taking a little longer than some people might have liked to play its hand and bring order to chaos.

Comparing Ottawa’s response to what the American government did makes no sense, either.

The U.S. has a military far greater than Canada’s Armed Forces and is geographically much closer to the Caribbean.

That said, once every Canadian who wants to flee the region is safely back home, we should all rethink our expectations.

Is the federal government responsible for the timely and convenient rescue of every Canadian who finds himself or herself threatened by every storm, earthquake or war anywhere on this planet?

Are we willing to expend more resources and possibly pay higher taxes to boost rescue efforts wherever needed?

Before answering this, remember that in this year alone, terrible storms have rampaged through Texas, Bangladesh and eastern China.

Yes, the Canadian government has a responsibility to help Canadians.

This is especially so when it comes to enabling federal government workers to leave dangerous situations, such as civil wars. But governments cannot do everything. Those who travel abroad need to accept they are largely responsible for their own fate.

This includes people who choose to travel to the Caribbean in hurricane season.