Hundreds gather on one year anniversary of Alberta’s worst flood
Posted Jun 20, 2014 10:28 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Hundreds of Calgarians joined a number of dignitaries Friday morning in a ceremony to mark the one year anniversary of Alberta’s worst-ever flood.
The ceremony at Municipal Plaza began with a song and blessing from Blackfoot Elder Leonard Bastien, followed by a video greeting from Prime Minister Harper and his wife, Laureen.
“One year ago, some parts of our great province were under water. Property was destroyed, homes were washed away, and precious memories were lost,” began Harper.
“But even when the storm clouds were darkest, and the flood waters were at their highest, you didn’t lose heart; you cleaned and cleared houses, you donated food and clothes, you pitched in and did what you could for family, friends, neighbours,” continued Laureen.
Premier Dave Hancock then got behind the podium and shared this story:
“One of my memories from the flood was being here on the Sunday of July long weekend when we were setting up the sites in Calgary where we were giving out cash cards so that people could have some resources to live away from their home for a few days…and talking to a young lady who had driven down from Slave Lake to say, ‘You were there from me last year, I want to be here for you this year.’ That’s the spirit.”
During his remarks, Mayor Naheed Nenshi told the story of a family evacuated from their home on June 20th and the mother delivered her baby on the 21st.
“And of course, on the day after her birthday discovered that like so many other Calgarians their home had been flooded. And they wanted to bring Hannah home. And they were able to being her home because of the remarkable generosity of friends and neighbours and strangers.”
The ceremony was followed up by a free pancake breakfast in front of City Hall.
