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irma

Naail Falah, left, and friend Daniel Baldassarra arrive at Pearson International Airport in Toronto after being stranded in Turks and Caicos after Hurricane Irma.J.P. MOCZULSKI/The Globe and Mail

The Canadian government says it will learn from the experience of Hurricane Irma to improve its ability to extract people stranded by future catastrophes. But Liberal cabinet ministers are offering no apologies for the efforts that were made to lift Canadians to safety.

Commercial aircraft were used to fly 691 people from the region where the Category 5 hurricane levelled buildings and left people without food, power and running water for several days. Some of those who have returned, and some opposition members, have complained that Ottawa's response was both slow and inefficient.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland was at Toronto's Pearson airport on Monday night to greet a planeload of those who lived through the disaster and said she is aware of the difficult and frightening ordeal they endured. The government says most of those Canadians who wanted to be evacuated from the Turks and Caicos and St. Maarten are now back in Canada and there was enough room on the planes to carry an additional 53 non-Canadians, most of them Americans.

Read more: Irma barrels through Florida: What you need to know about the storm

Read more: Irma's aftermath: A guide to the hurricane damage in Florida and beyond

In Photos: Pictures from Florida and the Caribbean islands in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma

But, when asked if she was sorry that the government did not preposition military or commercial aircraft to bring Canadians to safety, Ms. Freeland did not give a direct reply.

"We worked very hard both before and during the hurricane to be sure Canadians were safe. We're very glad that we have brought the majority home," she told reporters during break in a cabinet meeting in St. John's. "Better is always possible and we will be talking amongst ourselves. And also we're keen to hear from the people affected about their views on what we might do better if, you know, God forbid, there is a next time."

Transport Minister Marc Garneau said part of the delay in arranging for the Air Canada and WestJet flights to the islands affected by Irma was due to the reluctance of local authorities to allow large passenger airlines to take off from airports that were so heavily damaged. Normal navigational aids such as lighting and communication equipment were wiped out in the storm.

One of the hardest hit by Irma was the Turks and Caicos, a British overseas territory, and Ms. Freeland said she spoke to both the British High Commissioner and to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to make sure the Canadian planes could get off the ground.

The Canadian military has sent a large C-17 Globemaster cargo plane to the French Antilles loaded with relief supplies. HMCS St. John's has been recalled from naval exercises to deliver equipment, food, clothing and a helicopter to the regions that felt the brunt of the storm.

In addition, a disaster-assessment team made up of military personnel and Foreign Affairs officials is on the ground in the region to assess how Canada can best assist with humanitarian relief.

Marie-Claude Bibeau, the International Development Minister, said the first reports suggest that the focus of the Canadian effort will be reconstruction.

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