Good evening.

It’s a real pleasure to welcome all of you to Lunenburg. I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay.

You know, it’s no accident that so many little children want to be fire fighters when they grow up. It’s because you are real life heroes.

On the weekend of June 13th, when strong winds whipped a wildfire out of control in the Lake Echo-Porters Lake area, Nova Scotians got a huge reminder about how heroic firefighters are.

There is no doubt in my mind that the efforts of firefighters and other emergency personnel saved dozens of homes and prevented serious injury and loss of life that weekend.

For that, the thousands of people affected by the fire – and people all over the region are grateful.

Last week, I had the honour of co-hosting an evening of appreciation for firefighters and others involved in the June 13th fires. It was a wonderful and emotional event.

The next day, I was struck by the words of one firefighter who attended the event. A 33-year veteran who was quoted in the paper. Here’s what he said: "It’s very, very moving to get that level of recognition. It doesn’t happen very often. Guys go in the woods and toil for hours and hours and come out very dirty and tired... and then they just go home and nobody knows."

Well, I’m here to tell that firefighter and all of you, that people know and we are very thankful. We don’t tell you often enough, but we definitely appreciate all you do for our communities and for our provinces.

I am very pleased to be here this evening to deliver that message in person. I want to take a moment to commend the Lunenburg Regional Fire and Emergency Service for hosting the 94th annual Maritime Fire Chiefs Association Conference. Over the years, this conference has grown rapidly and I know it takes a huge amount of time and commitment to organize such a successful event. Congratulations on a job well done.

I hope you all have enjoyed our famous Nova Scotia hospitality and that you come back to visit us soon.

Thank you for inviting me to say a few words tonight. It has been an honour.