Premier Dalton McGuinty arrived in Dryden on Friday, July 22, flying in to the MNR Fire Management Headquarters to survey the fire situation in the North.

McGuinty was under fire by many First Nations communities, including the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, who were requesting the Province to declare a state of emergency province-wide.

“It is an emergency as far as we’re concerned, we’re treating it exactly as such.  The question I ask myself is, are we doing everything we need to do to help here, and protect lives, and to help people who are being removed from their own communities to help put that fire out.  I’m confident we are doing that,” said McGuinty.

When asked if the province plans on declaring a state of emergency in the future, the Premier replied, “We’ve got to leave that door open.  We’re listening to advice that we get, but it doesn’t appear to us, certainly at this point in time, to be necessary.  I think if I was caught up in this, I have one question alone.  That is are we doing everything necessary to protect me, my property, to get these fires out.  I think those are the big questions everyone’s asking and the answer in all three cases is, yes we are.”

MPP for the Kenora-Rainy River District, Howard Hampton, said, “These communities are asking for help from the province.  Municipalities are asking for help from the province.  Even the Federal Government is asking the province to act.  Unfortunately, McGuinty and his government don’t seem to be paying attention to this very desperate situation.”

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The Premier was questioned on the amount of money being spent daily on the fire operations, and although he did not know the daily amount, he did comment, “At this point in time, we’ve got to do what ever it takes.  When we prepare an annual budget, we have a contingency fund, which is money we set aside for extraordinary events.  This is exactly such an extraordinary event.  That’s why the money is there, and we’re not going to hesitate.  We’re not going to penny pinch when it comes to making sure we’re protecting life, protecting property, helping people who get displaced and helping support the great work that is being done on the ground and in the air to put these fires out.”

Meeting with many MNR personnel, McGuinty was taken on a tour of the fire centre, meeting many of the staff and seeing the process in which each of the personnel go through.

“We’ve been confronted by an extraordinary challenge here in Northern Ontario and I’m really proud of the extraordinary response that Ontarians are to this, rising to the challenge,” said McGuinty.

Touring the adminstration area, the command centre, the logistics area, and the warehouse areas, McGuinty also had a first hand look at the aviation equipment used to fight the many fires of the north.

“I wanted to reassure myself on behalf of all Ontarians that we are doing everything that we possibly can to ensure people’s safety, to protect property where that is possible, to help people who are being removed from their homes on a temporary basis, and to make sure that we are doing everything we can to put the fires out,” said McGuinty. “I’ve also said to the folks I’ve met with here today, if there’s anything else we need to do, you need to let us know.  I’m confident we’re doing what needs doing.”

By Ally Dunham