The Mayor of Port aux Basques delivered the keynote address at a Canadian Red Cross conference in Ottawa yesterday.

Brian Button was invited to the conference to discuss the impact of Hurricane Fiona and how the town is coping and preparing for future climate events.

“They thought it was important for the rest of the country to hear the story about how Port aux Basques reacted to the disaster and and how we prepared at that time.”

Button has had a busy agenda while in the nation’s capital. He was invited to a surprise face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to provide a post-Fiona update, and he also had a chance to take in an Ottawa Senators game prior to the All-Star break.

Ottawa Senators right-winger Drake Batherson has a connection to the Savoury family of Port aux Basques. Button says they had seats by the glass and brought a Port aux Basques flag, which Batherson noticed and acknowledged.