Today we honor and say thank you to the first responders who are fighting so hard to save communities across parts of Canada. Their courage is remarkable. Their individual efforts often go unnoticed, but they are the heroes among us.

So too are the people whose lives have been disrupted by fires, floods, and other natural disasters, yet display their own strength and valor in the face of enormous pain. So are the people in other cities and towns who have leapt forward to provide assistance.

Elected mayors and councillors and administration staff are providing strong leadership. That will be needed, because they are facing a stark reality—climate change is causing enormous damage to civic infrastructure.

From the dreadful wildfires that have been consuming so much of the Okanagan in BC to the floods in parts of Eastern Canada to the tornadoes that have attacked communities across the Canadian prairies, the damage is barely comprehensible.

A peaceful, well-run community can be devastated within hours. That changes lives and communities. It is awful for residents who see their homes destroyed in minutes. It is equally terrible for the city or town officials as they survey the devastation left behind.

Municipalities are the critical foundation for the community being able to come back and begin the long, hard process to recover, rebuild and eventually resurrect lives and businesses. Without the roads, sewers, water system, electrical grid, sanitary collection, bridges and the other building blocks of a community, little else can start.

Our hearts go out to the families affected by the natural disasters that have struck our nation. People are offering to donate, and so are other Canadian communities, because that's what we do to help our neighbours when they are in need.

There are painful times ahead. It will take months, years, to repair and replace lost infrastructure. It will take billions of dollars collectively in these towns and cities, and provincial and federal governments must step up and finance the rebuild. Municipalities will not have the resources to pay.

There are few bright lights after such tragedies. But, if I could offer one glimmer of hope, several years ago I visited Christchurch, New Zealand. You may recall the 2011 earthquake that killed 185 and devastated downtown and much of the rest of the city. Damage was estimated at $55 billion.

The city decided to do a community-focused, long range replanning process. People became deeply engaged, and a ten-year plan emerged that created an exciting new city that honored its past but amended some historic planning, neighbourhood and traffic issues.

Like Phoenix, these hurt and damaged towns and cities in Canada will arise again. Fort MacMurray did it. Jasper is doing terrific things. So are other Canadian communities that have faced a natural disaster.

In the meantime, we salute the first responders who are fighting so hard to save their communities. Their courage and dedication are remarkable. They are Canadian heroes.