A former premier of Ontario has now seen first hand the devastation left behind by the F3 Tornado in Goderich.
The Interim Federal Liberal Leader Bob Rae toured the most hit areas with CAO Larry McCabe and Deputy Mayor John Grace on Thursday afternoon.
Rae tells Bayshore Broadcasting News he came to Goderich to see the impact of the tornado and what he could do to help.
Rae notes unless you see the damage — you don’t understand how severe the twister was.
Rae says he appreciates the quality of the relief effort and how dedicated crews are to getting Goderich back on track.
He adds the pace is quite remarkable — with all service members and volunteers pulling together.
Rae tells us he will now take back what he saw to Ottawa to see what the Federal government can do — but says he won’t interfere with the work of local MP Ben Lobb.
Rae says he would be surprised if Prime Minister Harper doesn’t show up soon.
Rae notes it’s very important for Harper to be here because the damage is very significant.
Rae calls it a tragedy that 61 year old Normand Laberge died on the job while working at the Sifto Salt Mine but also a miracle there weren’t more deaths.
Rae says the devastation is a very big loss to the community and some neighbourhoods will even have to come down.
He feels most places near the Courthouse Square will be completely reconstructed.
