From the Province of Ontario
The governments of Ontario and Canada are investing $64 million to strengthen the province’s wildland fire program. The funding program will enhance Ontario’s firefighting abilities, allowing the province to hire and train key personnel and fund the purchase of new support equipment and technology, including fuel systems, tankers, trucks and software systems.
“Our government is making critical investments in our wildland fire program – on the ground and in the air – to keep Ontario at the leading edge of wildland firefighting,” said Graydon Smith, Minister of Natural Resources. “As an internationally recognized leader in wildland fire safety, we are preparing for more frequent and complex fire seasons to protect our communities now and in the future.”
To help keep communities safe this fire season and in the future, Ontario is also:
- Contracting the services of four additional medium helicopters to support fire suppression, increasing Ontario’s total number of contracted helicopters to 13.
- Ensuring support for communities impacted by fires and floods by contracting the services of an additional plane to assist with community evacuations, if needed.
- Creating more than 100 additional permanent positions to build leadership and experience within our wildland fire program. These new year-round positions will support improved career path opportunities for fire rangers and other staff.
- Investing $5 million to help attract and retain wildland firefighting staff. This investment recognizes the critical services of wildland firefighters and pilots with an incentive/retention payment of up to $5,000 for the 2024 fire season.
- Supporting wildland firefighters and investigators with improved access to benefit entitlements and eligibility for the same presumptive benefits as municipal firefighters and fire investigators.
“I am so proud of Ontario’s highly trained and skilled members working in wildland firefighting,” said Kevin Holland, Associate Minister of Forestry and Forest Products, “and as we strengthen our forestry sector, it’s crucial to leverage these skills to ensure the safety and resilience of Ontario communities affected by wildfires. Our training programs and investments are essential in supporting all communities that depend on our wildland firefighters.”
With the end of this fire season approaching, Ontario continues to look to future seasons and other ways to improve and modernize our equipment, personnel, and air fleet.
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Bob Braan says
Ford partially backpedals on yet another reckless mistake.
Only $64 million restored out of a $142.2 million CUT?
“As Ontario faces the devastating consequences of ongoing wildfires, it becomes apparent that the Doug Ford government’s decision to slash the forest firefighting budget by a staggering 67 per cent ($142.2 million according to 2019 Ontario Budget) was a reckless and short-sighted move.”
Conservatives Dani Smith, Doug Ford and Poilievre’s solution to climate change and the resulting much worse, massive wildfires due to drier conditions?
Let it burn.
Break out the marshmallows and make smores.
Keep burning fossil fuels and spewing GHG.
Ontario used to be 96% non-fossil fuel power.
Not any more due to more of Ford’s reckless mistakes.
We are down to 90% now and 75% by 2030.
Ontario is getting less green unlike the rest of the world.
Search “Polluting gas will provide 25% of Ontario’s electricity in 2030 – up from 4%”
Bob Braan says
Not only did Doug Ford previously CUT the wildfire fighting budget by $142.2 million Ontario continues to go backwards rapidly under Dud Ford.
Unlike the rest of the world which is rapidly going green. And much cheaper.
Search “UK renewable boom plunges electricity prices”
Renewables are making the cost of electricity less than zero in France. Watch the video: “French giant cancels nuclear power plant and turns off 6 nuclear reactors.”
Lower health care costs because of cleaner air.
Search “Court sides with youth in historic climate case against Ontario”
Doug Ford was actually fighting to pollute more against students in court.
And lost.
Only Conservatives would pay much more to pollute.
Including paying lawyers with our tax dollars.
Renewable plus storage makes up 80% of the world’s new energy sources.
Because they are much cheaper.
Not just because of climate change including the cost of the resulting devastating wildfires, made worse.
“since 2021, more workers have been employed in the “clean” energy sector than in the fossil sector”
Search “Explosive Growth – How Green Energy Fuels the Economic Boom”
“renewable energies made up ten percent of growth in global Gross Domestic Product – equivalent to 320 billion dollars.”
“Indeed, the growth rates for renewable energies last year were impressive: 80 percent of newly built electricity capacities worldwide were attributable to wind, solar, water, and biomass.”