Ontario premier visits Thunder Bay as nearly 200 forest fires burn across province

Ontario Premier Doug Ford dismisses ongoing criticism that the province wasn’t properly prepared for the severity of the wildfires. Heather Wright reports.

Seven new forest fires are burning in Ontario today, bringing the total to 191. While the Ministry of Natural Resources says overcast conditions and some recent rain have helped slow the spread of the fires, it remains an extremely volatile situation in the northwestern part of the province.

Today, Ontario Premier Doug Ford was in Thunder Bay, meeting with fire crews, first responders and other community members promising to spare no expense when it comes to fighting the fires.

“We’re doing absolutely every resource we can possibly throw at this, including bringing people in from Alberta, firefighters and water bombers from the Yukon and any other jurisdiction that’s willing to help,” Ford said.

The premier dismissed criticism that his government was unprepared for what has quickly become one of the worst fire seasons in Ontario in recent memory, slamming opposition members for “politicizing” the emergency.

“I will not spare a penny,” he said. “There is no limit to spending.”

First Nations communities have been hit the hardest. Nearly half of Nishnawbe Aski Nation has been affected, with more than a dozen communities currently evacuated from their homes. Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler says the province’s response to this crisis has been slow.

“It’s a week ago today that we saw the escalation of fires in our region,” Fiddler said. “We are a week into this fire crisis and we are still scrambling.”

Fiddler says Ford did not reach out to meet with him before coming to Thunder Bay and he did not speak with the premier during his visit to the area.

Fiddler wants to see more collaboration between the province, Ottawa and First Nations communities to better prepare for these types of emergencies. The premier’s office did not respond to a question about whether Ford met with any First Nations leaders on Saturday.

Ford maintains the province’s response has been swift, with 155 fire crews now in the region including 80 water bombers.

“Between ourselves, the federal government, the insurance companies, we’re gonna get back on our feet, so by no means have we even stalled for a minute on this,” Ford said.

More than 650,000 hectares have burned so far. Bill Skerget, who is helping deliver aid and supplies to remote communities affected by the fires, says the scale of the destruction is massive.

“Fire everywhere,” he said. “Every window you look out of when you’re up in an airplane, you’re going to see fire, you’re going to see smoke.”

Asked what has been done in the off-season to prepare for this summer, Ontario’s Minister of Natural Resources says not only have more fire rangers been hired, but they are also being paid more, including retention bonuses for some. Mike Harris adds the province is also in the process of procuring new water bombers and helicopters, though they will not be available for several more years.

“We’re refurbishing hoses, we’re making sure that all of the equipment is in place at our distribution centre … so there’s a lot being done in the off-season. We’re always looking for more great people to come and join our team,” he said.

One of the challenges in battling these fires is the sheer number of them burning across the continent. Resources are being stretched thin in what is so far shaping up to be a devastating wildfire season.