{"id":84773,"date":"2026-07-15T15:45:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T19:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/?p=84773"},"modified":"2026-07-15T16:02:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T20:02:47","slug":"devastating-forest-fires-show-ontarios-north-cannot-wait-any-longer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/15\/devastating-forest-fires-show-ontarios-north-cannot-wait-any-longer\/","title":{"rendered":"Devastating Forest Fires Show Ontario\u2019s North Cannot Wait Any Longer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"\"<\/a>Today, MPP Ted Hsu, Ontario Liberal Critic for Rural Affairs, Natural Resources, Mining & Forestry, Mary-Margaret McMahon, Ontario Liberal Critic for Emergency Management, Environment & Climate, and Stephanie Smyth, Ontario Liberal Critic for Northern Affairs issued the following statement on the devastating forest fires in Ontario\u2019s North.<\/p>\n

As of July 15, there are 185 active wildland fires across Northern Ontario, with 74 not under control and 36 new fires reported in the past day. Evacuation orders have forced families and First Nations communities from their homes, while FireRangers, pilots and local emergency personnel work under extremely dangerous conditions,\u201d said Hsu.<\/p>\n

I encourage everyone to follow any evacuation orders and the advice of on-the-ground personnel. Wildfire smoke can irritate the lungs and worsen asthma, heart conditions and other breathing problems, particularly for vulnerable people, so please check in on your neighbours, friends and family.<\/p>\n

Protect Ontario\u201d cannot simply be an advertising slogan. It must mean protecting people before an emergency reaches their doorstep,\u201d said Hsu.<\/p>\n

Courage on the front lines cannot compensate for inadequate preparation. Ontario entered this fire season facing shortages of crews, pilots and equipment. The government has added 68 permanent firefighting and support positions, but serious recruitment and retention pressures remain.<\/p>\n

The province spent $271 million on emergency forest firefighting last year, yet budgeted only $150 million this year. Underbudgeting may support a \u201cfiscally responsible\u201d narrative on budget day, but it is not fiscal responsibility. It is knowingly budgeting below the demonstrated cost of protecting Ontario and waiting for an emergency to cover the difference,\u201d Hsu continued.<\/p>\n

A realistic base budget would allow the ministry to recruit and retain crews, maintain aircraft, secure equipment and prepare evacuations before communities are threatened, rather than scrambling once fires are burning and families are being forced from their homes.<\/p>\n

The North will come together, as it always does, but its resilience cannot excuse a government that failed to prepare. Protecting Ontario means protecting all of Ontario, with enough crews, equipment and funding in place before the next emergency,\u201d added Hsu.<\/p>\n

Communities across Northern Ontario are facing one of the most severe wildfire emergencies in recent memory. My thoughts are with every family forced from their home, the firefighters risking their lives, and the Indigenous and northern communities carrying the greatest burden. Ontario must ensure they have the resources and support they need, not just during this crisis but throughout the recovery,\u201d said Smyth.<\/p>\n

All around Ontario, municipalities are reporting record high levels of housing precarity. Paired with this prolonged heat warning, people cannot remain outside due to dangerous air quality, but lack the option to retreat to cool personal spaces. The climate crisis is real, and puts real people\u2019s lives in jeopardy,\u201d McMahon concluded.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, MPP Ted Hsu, Ontario Liberal Critic for Rural Affairs, Natural Resources, Mining & Forestry, Mary-Margaret McMahon, Ontario Liberal Critic for Emergency Management, Environment & Climate, and Stephanie Smyth, Ontario Liberal Critic for Northern Affairs issued the following statement on the devastating forest fires in Ontario\u2019s North. As of July 15, there are 185 active …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":84776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-22 17:59:13","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84773"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84779,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84773\/revisions\/84779"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}