OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick expressed solidarity with First Nations communities impacted by wildfires in northern Ontario and support for a public inquiry into the Ford government’s inadequate planning and response.
Hornick was invited to attend a press conference on July 30 organized by Chiefs from the Nishnawbe Aski Nation with support from the Ontario NDP.
“Our members are fighting these fires on the ground, they are piloting aircraft in the skies, and they are providing operational support. But the reality is that they have not been set up to succeed,” said Hornick.
OPSEU/SEFPO members have sounded the alarm for years about understaffing, a lack of preparedness, and the potentially disastrous consequences.
“Premier Doug Ford’s government has failed to provide the transparent planning, stable funding, and staffing that the fire program requires,” added Hornick. “Despite the increasing severity of fire seasons, Ontario had over 50 more fire crews 20 years ago than we do today.”
Entire communities have burned to the ground. It has been reported that 12 of the 13 communities that have been evacuated in Ontario’s north are First Nations.
Chief Pauleen Drake of Whitewater Lake First Nation expressed sorrow at the devastation her community has experienced. “We have to start from scratch. There’s few structures left… We lost a lot of homes. Our treasured places are lost in the community.”
“We need to be respected and incorporated into how forests are managed. Indigenous communities must be partners in decisions that affect our territories,” added Drake. “We need to have a plan. We need to have the resources available. We need to provide for our crews, they’re out there putting their lives at risk.”
Channeling the disappointment and frustration among the First Nations leaders in the room, former Chief of Neskantaga First Nation Wayne Moonias said, “They don’t understand the needs of our community.”
“They don’t respect the First Nations when it comes to helping our own people. All they want is access to our homelands,” added Moonias. “The climate change that is happening in the area, it should not give a free pass to the Ontario government for their failure, for their lack of response, for their lack of investment.”
In a rare show of cross-party unity, all three opposition parties – the NDP, Liberals, and Greens – have backed the call for a public inquiry.
To date, the Ford government has refused to commit to an inquiry, or even to share the findings of “after action” reports that it says will be prepared following this fire season.
In the government’s press conference earlier in the day, Minister of Natural Resources Mike Harris demonstrated a poor grasp of the new reality of wildfire season. When asked if this fire season was a “one off”, Harris replied, “I hope so. Obviously you can’t predict this.”