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KVOS Special: Operation Cooperation
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- Ladies and gentlemen, the ground on which we stand today
- has seen numerous ceremonies honoring the ties of friendship
- and cooperation that continue to flourish
- between the province of British Columbia
- and the state of Washington.
- Today, we are commemorating the most noble gesture,
- which one nation can extend toward another,
- that of a helping hand in a time of need.
- A major natural disaster or nuclear attack,
- concentrated in this area of Canada or the United States
- would create an immediate requirement for disaster
- services and mutual assistance between our two
- great countries, our provinces and states, our cities,
- large and small.
- The voluntary dispersal of people
- from the Vancouver target area in the possible event
- of disaster.
- Our common tongue does much to assist in our mutual trust
- and understanding.
- However, it does only one factor in the attainment
- of such a forward step in survival planning.
- Much work spread over several years
- has been accomplished by the officials of the civil defense
- organizations of the state of Washington
- and of British Columbia, so that today's arrangements
- could become a reality.
- Across this unfortified boundary,
- with our hands clasped in friendship,
- we mark today as the completion of a vital step
- toward ensuring the survival of our people.
- It is an agreement that sets up a traffic control plan that
- gives us assurance to people of the Vancouver target area
- that they may exit during a period of disaster
- to the eastern part of our own province,
- through Whatcom County.
- Canada and the United States is the example to all the world,
- to all the world, of mutual trust and understanding.
- May our mutual friendship and understanding
- continue to live and to prosper forever plus one day.
- Thank you.
- Be my guest.
- Go ahead.
- All set?
- [MUSIC PLAYING]
- This is the honorable W.D. Black,
- Provincial Secretary for the province of British Columbia.
- Minister Black, why is British Columbia taking the lead
- among the six provinces that border on the United States
- in this kind of civil defense cooperation?
- Well, my friend, number one is because we just
- happen to be the smartest people in Canada.
- But number two is because of our topography and our geography.
- You'll recall that the Rocky Mountain range comes down
- bordering or cutting us off, rather,
- from Alberta and possibly the rest of Canada.
- And it is to our mutual aid and advantage
- to have a cooperative program with the state of Washington.
- And we've found that cooperation excellent
- and to the mutual benefit of both parties.
- Is this rooting through Whatcom County a permanent,
- or are there plans for developing evacuation routes
- within British Columbia?
- Well, let me answer it this way, that we
- do have other evacuation routes in British Columbia.
- But most people in this general area
- know the city of Vancouver, and they
- know that there's approximately eight lanes of traffic
- coming out of Vancouver toward the south or toward this way.
- And when we reach Hope, that narrows
- into two lanes of traffic.
- And it becomes very obvious that if we've
- continued with that type of evacuation, then
- we'd have nothing but congestion.
- And this arrangement that was made here today
- will alleviate, at least to some degree, that congestion that
- might occur at that point.
- Thank you very much the Honorable W.D.
- Black, Provincial Secretary for the province of British
- Columbia.
- Turning to another topic, the North Cross State Highway.
- Do you think this would have significant civil defense
- value as evacuation routes both for people
- in this part of Washington state and in Southern British
- Columbia?
- I believe I could say, Al, that a North Cross State
- Highway would be of great benefit to this particular area
- and to the province of British Columbia.
- I think the economic value is tremendous.
- But the fact that you just mentioned
- that it could help with civil defense, I'm sure it could.
- Thank you very much.
- Lieutenant Governor, John Cherberg
- of the state of Washington.
- We are standing in the Washington State Civil Defense
- Mobile Command post bus, and we are talking with General E.M.
- Llewellyn, who is the civil defense coordinator
- for the state of Washington.
- General Llewellyn, what is this bus's purpose?
- Well, this is a mobile command post.
- We can operate state government from this particular unit.
- We can keep, for example, in touch with [INAUDIBLE] command,
- with all our county government, with state fisheries and game,
- with the military, with air, with home civil defense
- networks, Coast Guard, and with what
- we call ham operators, which is almost everybody else.
- And as this would be the place from which the communications
- for state government would be carried
- on an event of a national disaster?
- It could be.
- In other words, we could move this bus to any safe location
- and still operate and maintain communications
- with all other units of government.
- We are here at the peace arch today
- to start a new cooperative venture between Washington
- state and British Columbia with regard to evacuation routes.
- When was this first suggested?
- About two years ago.
- See, it takes quite a bit of time
- to work out an international agreement.
- First starts at the state level between the two state
- governments, and it has to go up to the State Department.
- And our State Department in Washington DC
- works with Ottawa, Canada.
- And so it takes nearly two years to work out
- an agreement on the local level when you finally
- put it through the whole mill.
- Do you find this cooperation in civil defense
- with the province of British Columbia
- to be a significant strategic factor in your long range
- planning?
- Yes, we do.
- Many people, I believe fail to realize
- how intertied we are with various sections of even
- the North American continent.
- For example, should the bomb drop on the state of Washington
- or on the whole United States, producing three times the food
- we need in Washington, we'd find we would have to supply food
- to Alaska and Idaho, and we'd probably
- receive some food from Oregon.
- And this also overlaps into Canada.
- These interchanges of materials and supplies
- and strategic materials, we receive oil, for example,
- from Canada.
- So all of these things have to be organized
- on a cooperative basis.
- And this form of cooperation is an absolute necessity then.
- Absolutely.
- Even in peacetime, it's required.
- In war time, it'd become absolutely necessary
- for survival.
- What are current plans with regard to civil defense
- in Washington state?
- Well, our big project now is to provide protection
- from fallout for the entire population
- of the state of Washington.
- We have recently uncovered and engineered
- the safety factors of every building, mine, tunnel,
- and structure in the state of Washington,
- and we now know that there is survival protection
- for some 690,000 of our people, and between now and the first
- of the year, we will stock all of these facilities
- with food, water, sanitary equipment, first aid equipment,
- and radiological equipment for that protection in case
- of the bomb.
- Thank you very much, General Llewellyn.
- This is Brigadier J.F.A. Lister, civil defense coordinator
- for the province of British Columbia.
- Brigadier Lister, have plans been developed whereby
- Washington state residents might be using BC facilities in case
- of an international disaster?
- Mr. Swift, all our planning is based on reciprocity,
- and we would certainly welcome the opportunity
- to assist the people of Washington state
- if there was a strike down here and not one
- in British Columbia.
- I see.
- Well, would this cooperation also
- extend on both sides of the border
- to things other than evacuation routes,
- such as hospitals, fire equipment, things
- of this nature, food?
- It definitely would, Mr. Swift.
- After all, people are people.
- And it doesn't matter whether they come from Washington
- or British Columbia, our facilities
- would be placed at your disposal.
- And this cross the border cooperation is something
- that is a necessity if civil defense programs in both
- the province and in the state of Washington are to be effective,
- is that right?
- To all intents and purposes, Mr. Swift,
- we are one country if the continent is attacked.
- I see.
- What are current plans in British Columbia
- for additional civil defense activities for the protection
- of the citizens?
- Well, our planning is based on shelter and dispersal.
- And of course, dispersal is on a voluntary basis.
- That's the reason we're here today,
- another method of dispersal.
- Exactly, Mr. Swift.
- Exactly.
- This bronze plaque commemorates the ceremonies completed here
- today September 22, 1962, signifying
- the placing of the first marker route for the dispersal routes
- from Vancouver through Washington state
- and into British Columbia again.
- And with us today is John Littlehales,
- the civil defense coordinator for the Vancouver zone,
- and Ray Henning, who is the civil defense
- director for Whatcom County.
- First of all, John could you tell us
- where this dispersal route begins?
- It follows the Deas Island freeway
- through the Deas Island tunnel down to the border here.
- And when it gets to the border, where does it go?
- It goes over two routes.
- It goes over H Street, East, and it also
- goes over the Blaine-Sumas road to Sumas, to the border control
- station at Sumas and then back on into Canada.
- Now, H Street is H Street in Blaine?
- That is H Street in Blaine.
- That's right.
- OK, once it gets to the Sumas border,
- where does it go from there?
- Well it goes from the border crossing up back
- to Trans Canada Highway through Chilliwack
- and through the Hope.
- Mr. Littlehales, another very interesting thing
- took place this afternoon.
- That was the feeding of the troops in the emergency
- kitchens up here.
- How many of these kitchens do you
- have in British Columbia or will you have soon?
- Well, at the moment we have two of them Al.
- But we have six more coming, and we will have eight
- altogether in my zone.
- And how many people could one of these kitchens feed?
- Well, each kitchen feeds 500 persons for one hour.
- For one hour.
- For one hour.
- And these are completely equipped?
- Completely equipped, all except the food, of course.
- I noticed a rather interesting stove.
- Could you tell us something about the stoves that are used
- in these emergency kitchens?
- Well, this Soyer stove goes way back.
- It was invented by the chef for Napoleon,
- and they haven't been able to improve on this stove since.
- It burns anything, anything at all you can get your hands on,
- this stove will burn, and you can cook on it.
- Coal, wood.
- Anything at all.
- Anything that burns.
- Anything that burns.
- Another very interesting thing that is taking place here
- in the way of cooperation between the province of British
- Columbia and Washington state is the cooperation
- in the area of firefighting.
- Could you tell us something about the couplings, Ray,
- that the firefighters can get at the border stations?
- Yes, the threading on the fire equipment in Canada
- differs from the threads on the fire equipment in our country.
- And in our mutual cooperation, each nation
- has purchased and mounted adapters
- that they're now interchangeable,
- and the Canadian fire department can fight fires
- in the United States, and the American equipment
- can do likewise in Canada.
- Well, if say the New Westminster fire department were
- to be coming down here to help us,
- where would they pick up these adapters,
- at the Canadian or the American stations?
- They'd pick them up at the custom house.
- In Canada, Canadian custom house.
- And in the case of firefighting equipment going north,
- they'd pick it up at the American custom house.
- At the American customs house.
- That's right.
- I see.
- Is there any problem here with insurance?
- I know there have been cases where
- firefighting equipment from one city
- has not gone to another, because they say their insurance won't
- cover.
- Has that been cleared up in this case?
- That has been cleared up.
- In the planning of the program, that question
- was cleared up to the mutual benefit
- of both countries involved.
- There is no insurance liability or problem.
- Can this firefighting equipment be
- utilized across the border in any other
- than just the case of national attack, war, in other words?
- Can they be used in case of natural disaster?
- A terrible fire in Blaine, could they get help from BC?
- Yes, they could get help from British Columbia.
- Likewise, British Columbia could get help
- if a conflagration started that was
- beyond the capabilities of either department,
- they could call for mutual aid, and they would receive it.
- And gentlemen, I know that this, today, this ceremony
- was the fruition of a long series of meetings and work
- that involved hundreds of people.
- Now that it's completed, what are you looking forward to,
- more cooperation or what?
- Well, we couldn't expect much more cooperation
- than we've already received from the good Canadian friends,
- but however, let's say the cooperation will continue,
- and the friendship that we've known
- will not stop just because this plaque has been dedicated here
- today.
- What about you, Mr. Littlehales?
- Well, I think the one big thing that we get out of this, Al,
- is the fact that in our agreements
- there is a definite statement about no border.
- There is a no border policy, and we are acting as one people.
- I think this is a big lesson that people all over the world
- should note and take note of, and they
- can learn a lot from it.