The NDP is repeating its call for a public inquiry into Ontario’s response to this summer’s forest fires as 180 blazes continue to burn in the north.
First Nations leaders have said the Ontario government left communities to fend for themselves without timely support for evacuations.
Earlier this week, Premier Doug Ford said his government did everything it could to respond to the wildfires. The province has said some of the blazes spread so quickly they were only seen once they were dangerously close to First Nations.
On Thursday, Stiles reiterated her call for a public deep dive into the response when the fires have cooled.
“We need to know how this happened and we need to know how we can make sure that the people of Ontario are never put at such risk again,” she said at Queen’s Park.
“Now I want to be very, very clear. The priority in this moment is fighting that fire. That is the priority right now. But I am going to keep calling for that public inquiry.”
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It’s the same request a group of First Nations leaders and chiefs made this week as they eviscerated the government’s wildfire response.
The chiefs said some residents were forced to organize their own evacuations and received little warning or assistance as wildfires approached their communities.
They also accuse the Ministry of Natural Resources of ignoring recommendations to improve wildfire preparedness and emergency response, despite years of warnings from Indigenous leaders.
The demands come as Ontario’s wildfire season is on track to become the province’s worst on record. More than 7,250 square kilometres have burned so far this year.
The government appears to be resisting the calls.
“As is the case every fire season, the Ministry of Natural Resources will conduct an after-action review to inform future responses,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Natural Resources said in a statement.
These after-action reviews help inform several improvements to Ontario’s wildland fire program, including the addition of nearly 170 permanent positions since 2024, the creation of permanent crew leadership roles, enhanced recruitment and retention measures, investments in aviation capacity and equipment, and ongoing enhancements to the health, safety, and well-being of front-line personnel.”
Stiles disagreed with the characterization, saying she didn’t believe they’d made a meaningful difference.
“Those reviews have not resulted in a change or, in fact, in better preparedness,” she said. “And that is what I have heard from wildland firefighters. It’s the concerns we are hearing from First Nations.”
— with files from Global News’ Alessia Simona Maratta and The Canadian Press
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