Sarnia's mayor is recommending that the city contribute $25,000 to help those impacted by the wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alberta.
Mayor Mike Bradley has requested that the donation be made a matter of urgent business at the city's May 9 council meeting. The mayor hopes to donate the funds to the Canadian Red Cross disaster fund.
The federal government has announced it will match any donations made.
In an email, Bradley says he witnessed the Fort McMurray disaster unfold while he was in Edmonton this past week as a keynote speaker for the annual Gateway Association.
"The people of Sarnia and Alberta have an extra ordinary connection going back decades through the petrochemical industries located in Alberta and Sarnia," he says in the email. "Countless skilled Sarnia trades people and our world-class construction companies have worked in Fort McMurray, and the resources of Alberta have established Sarnia as the eastern petrochemical center of Canada. We have shared the benefit of our natural resources as Canadians and now in the time of need of Albertans it is time for us to stand up and show our support. We are all one."
Bradley says he will be recommending that the donation be taken from a $288,000 additional dividend that was announced last week by Bluewater Power to the City of Sarnia.
