The NDP candidate for the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo says an election pledge on climate action will specifically address disaster relief in the Kamloops area.

Bill Sundhu was talking about $3 billion committed for local governments that was previously earmarked by leader Jagmeet Singh in the campaign.

He spoke to reporters in Kamloops about the topic on Wednesday morning, joined by NDP New Westminster-Burnaby candidate Peter Julian.

“Particularly here, in the B.C. Interior and in Kamloops, we’ve seen the devastating and terrifying effects of the wildfires and climate change. People have been evacuated, properties have been lost, livestock has been lost, incomes have been impacted. So we’re announcing a $3 billion dollar plan over four years, to provide disaster relief for those families, those businesses that have suffered,” Sundhu says.

“We also are committing, as part of that money, building resilient infrastructure. So that we can resist the adverse effects of wildfires, which we have seen in three of the last five summers.”

Sundhu says the federal government should’ve stepped up by now to help people affected by fires this summer.

“People have essentially been left on their own. To evacuate, find their own accommodation, struggle with getting their livestock out, losing their property, losing their income. And so this is very, vitally important that the government steps up and helps those people, not leave them on their own.”

Local Kamloops area resident Anita Strong joined Sundhu and Julian for this morning’s news conference, saying she was evacuated at one point this summer by wildfire.

“When you have to evacuate your home, it’s like you’re leaving your life behind you, giving up everything that has meaning and security for you,” Strong says. “I do not want to sentence our kids and grandkids to a future where every summer brings insecurity and fear. We need action that takes hold, not promises that are quickly forgotten.”

– with files from Victor Kaisar