Good afternoon and good morning. Yesterday afternoon, a violent fast-moving fire swept through Canadian Armed Force base in Wainwright, Alberta. And what followed was one of the worst tragedies for the Forces on Canadian soil in peace time. I regret that I can confirm at this time that four service members have lost their lives and their next of kin has been notified. Dozens more are seriously wounded.

Now, as the situation is evolving rapidly, I've asked that a detailed account and a formal briefing be provided this afternoon by senior officials on the ground in Wainwright including the Minister of National Defence, Canada's Minister of Emergency Preparedness, the Major General Wade Rutland of the Canadian Army, and they will be joined at that briefing by provincial ministers and senior officials.

I would like to take this opportunity to commend the close collaboration that has occurred between all levels of government. Since last evening, Premier Smith and I have been in regular contact. Our ministers and our officials have coordinated the response, deploying resources from the Canadian Armed Forces, from Public Safety, local fire department and first responders, Alberta Emergency and Medical Services. 

The nation is in mourning for those brave members of our Armed Forces that we have lost, and I have asked that the flags on all federal buildings to be flown at half mast to honour them. Our hearts go with and we are praying for the wounded and we stand in solidarity and compassion for the families, the friends and the colleagues of all those affected by this tragedy.

Canadians come together in crisis. That is the best of our country. Military and civilian crews fought this fire throughout the night in some of the worst conditions imaginable, risking their lives to protect their fellow Canadians. STARS air ambulance crews flew in from Edmonton and from Saskatoon. Paramedics, nurses and doctors in Wainwright, in Edmonton, in Red Deer, in Calgary are caring for the victims. The people of Wainwright are taking care of their own. And I would like to thank those Albertans and Canadians who are giving blood, who are feeding and housing the emergency crews and who are providing solace and comfort to those in their darkest hour.

Those affected came from bases right across this country. They included reservists and soldiers from the storied Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. Throughout Canada's history, the Princess Pats have fought for freedom, democracy, human dignity in the First World War, in the Second, in Korea, in Afghanistan, and during numerous peacekeeping missions over decades. That is the record. That is the standard. Those are the values of the women and men who were training yesterday on the Alberta prairie when disaster struck. And that commitment, that service, those ideals are the debts that we, as Canadians, owe to them. Our country depends on the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces. Our rights, our freedoms, the very way of life are fought for and defended every single day by Canadians who answer the call. And CFB Wainwright is where the women and men of our Armed Forces learn to do the hardest things this country can ask of anyone.

Those we lost, those who were injured were training to defend Canada, to serve Canada. And now Canada serves them. We'll be there for their families for as long as they need. We will care for the injured through every step of their recovery and we will stand by the women and men of our Armed Forces as they bear the weight of this loss. They will not carry it alone because in Canada, we take care of one another.

Yesterday afternoon, a violent, fast-moving fire swept through the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Base in Wainwright, Alberta. What followed was one of the worst tragedies for the Forces on Canadian soil in peacetime and I regret that I can confirm at this time that four service members have lost their lives and their next of kin have been notified. Dozens more are seriously wounded.

As the situation is evolving rapidly, I have asked that a detailed account and formal briefing be provided to Canadians this afternoon by senior officials on the ground in Wainwright, including the Minister of National Defence, the Minister of Emergency Preparedness, and CAF Major-General Wade Rutland. They will be joined by provincial ministers and senior officials.

The nation is in mourning for those brave members of our Armed Forces whom we have lost. And I have asked the flags on all federal buildings to be flown at half-mast to honour them. We are praying for the wounded. And we stand in solidarity and compassion for the families, friends, and colleagues of all those affected by this tragedy.

Our country depends on the women and men of the CAF. Our rights, our freedoms, our way of life are fought for and defended every single day by Canadians who answer the call. CFB Wainwright is where the women and men of our Armed Forces learn to do the hardest things this country can ask of anyone. Those we lost were training to defend Canada. To serve Canada.

Now Canada serves them. We will be there for their families for as long as they need. We will care for the injured through every step of their recovery. And we will stand by the women and men of our Armed Forces as they bear the weight of this loss. They will not carry it alone. Because in Canada, we take care of one another.

Merci beaucoup. Thank you very much.