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Ontario wildfires force evacuations; union faults Ford government on staffing
Nearly 200 wildfires burn in Ontario; union says staffing at 61% of needed levels, blames Ford government for inaction. Evacuations ongoing.
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Nearly 200 forest fires are burning across Northern Ontario, forcing evacuations of rural and First Nations communities. OPSEU/SEFPO, the union representing wildland firefighters, said the Ford government has failed to invest enough in staffing and training.
Ontario should have at least 250 initial attack crews ready. Only 153 are available, roughly 61% of what is needed, said Jeremy Rouse, the union's chair of the Ministry Employee Relations Committee for the Ministry of Natural Resources.
“We cannot continue to respond to increasingly severe fire seasons with fewer resources than the situation demands,” Rouse said in a statement.
Evacuations have been ordered in Armstrong, Lac La Croix First Nation, Collins First Nation, Whitesand First Nation, Gull Bay First Nation, and Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation.
OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick said whole communities are burning down due to intentional choices by the government.