First Nations leaders and Ontario NDP demand public inquiry into Ford government’s wildfire response

First Nation Leaders, were joined by the Leader of the Official Opposition, Marit Stiles; Deputy Leader, MPP Sol Mamakwa; Thunder Bay Superior North MPP, Lise Vaugeois; and OPSEU President JP Hornick, to demand for a full public inquiry on this government’s response to the wildfires that devastated Northern Ontario.

“A week ago, I stood with First Nations leaders in Thunder Bay as they shared the devastating impacts these wildfires have had on their communities,” said Stiles. “While our hearts remain with everyone affected and the wildland firefighters risking their lives to keep people safe, we cannot ignore the failures that made this crisis worse.

“First Nations communities warned this government, and firefighters pleaded for more resources, but Doug Ford refused to act. When communities needed support, they were left to fend for themselves. Ontario’s New Democrats will continue standing with Northern communities and demanding accountability, a full public inquiry, and a wildfire response that keeps people safe.”

“Doug Ford’s government has spent millions of dollars telling Ontarians they are protecting this province, but what we are seeing on the ground tells a very different story,” said MPP Mamakwa. “First Nations communities have been left to organize their own evacuations, support their own people, and fill the gaps left by this government’s failures.

“While this government invests in their own vanity driven projects, communities are asking for the resources, staffing, and support they were promised. The people of the north deserve action, not meaningless slogans. They deserve a government that will show up when they need it most.”

“The people of Northern Ontario are living through enormous losses because of this government’s failure to properly prepare for the wildfire crisis,” said MPP Vaugeois. “People across Southern Ontario need to understand the scale of what is happening. This government can claim they were ready, but our communities would not have suffered this scale of devastation if that was true. Words and announcements do not put out fires. Resources, planning, proper funding and action do.”

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Ontario NDP

The Ontario New Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The Ontario NDP, led by Andrea Horwath since March 2009, currently forms the Official Opposition in Ontario following the 2018 general election.

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