To the editor,
In response to the comments made in this article in the Trillium, I’m disappointed and puzzled to hear that Minister Graydon Smith’s proposals on Wildfire Management once again ignore the key issue of firefighter recruitment and retention.
Wildland firefighters have repeatedly made the case that they need to be classified as “firefighters” in order receive the appropriate level of pay and benefits. Without this, the service cannot keep experienced firefighters and - as has been the case for several years - fully staff their crews.
On June 24, the Ford government made a promise to my colleague, Guy Bourgouin, and committed to reclassification:
Guy Bourgouin: “With wildfire season anticipated to start early this year, will the government finally do the right thing and classify forest rangers as firefighters?”
Hon. David Piccini: “A short answer to the member opposite: Yes.”
And yet, here we are again, with the Ministry now “studying” the reclassification issue instead of making the change they committed to make on June 24.
Another empty promise made; another promise broken.
In response, Noah Freedman, a wildland firefighter and OPSEU member said, “If we don't have people that understand how to manage fires once they occur, then we're missing a massive piece of the puzzle.”
Calling people heroes, while enforcing unacceptable job conditions, is adding insult to injury.
If Minister Smith is sincere about mitigating the risk of forest fires, he needs to use the power he already has, to keep the word of his government, and finally classify the people who do the essential work of fighting forest fires, as “firefighters.”
Lise Vaugeois
MPP, Thunder Bay – Superior North
