May 28, 2024
Last year was the worst year of forest fires Canada has ever seen. More than 6,000 fires burned a staggering 16.5 million hectares of forest – an area larger than Greece.
Towns were evacuated. Smoke blanketed the sky. I’m sure you remember it.
A hot dry winter fueled by climate change led to that unprecedented fire season.
Now another winter of above average temperatures and low precipitation points to more of the same in 2024.
The Ford government knows this but they’ve failed to act. We’re still short 200 forest fire fighters and 47 fire crews.
Tell Ford To Invest In Fire Protection
Wildland firefighters have been sounding the alarm for months now. They’re underpaid, understaffed, and they don’t have the resources they need to keep themselves and their communities safe.
They don’t even have the proper equipment to protect them from carcinogenic toxins and other workplace hazards.
, forest fires aren’t going away. As climate change continues to make our winters drier and warmer they’ll only get worse.
We’re calling on Premier Ford and Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry Graydon Smith to come up with a plan to support our forest firefighters so that they can do the job they’re trained to do.
Matt Richter, Deputy Leader
Ontario Greens