Ed Arvelin

I live in Northwestern Ontario. Right now, the Boreal forest is burning. I'm writing this beneath the dark orange plume from the Quetico wildfires. These are some of the reports coming out as communities fight to survive: "No fire crews left for new fires." "We had no warning." Families are self-evacuating by private boat across lakes because they didn't receive evacuation information. They're fleeing towering flames with nothing but the clothes on their backs. This is unacceptable in a province as wealthy as Ontario. I'm calling out Doug Ford. His government has underfunded Ontario's wildfire management capacity by tens of millions of dollars. @fordnation you want our Ring of Fire, our water, our forests. You want to store nuclear waste in our bedrock and run an oil pipeline through our watersheds. But you won't work with northern communities. You make decisions for us without us, and then fail to provide the basic public services we PAY FOR and rely on: wildfire protection, health care, education, safe highways and social services. Northern Ontario deserves better than this feckless leadership. #onpoli #onted #70KIsNotOK #cdnpolitics #DontLookAwayOntario #ABC

An update to the message: If the media is looking for questions to ask the Premier @fordnation and Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response Jill Dunlop @JillDunlop1 , here are a few: • Where is Ontario Corps? • Why hasn't Ontario declared a provincial emergency? • Has Ontario requested federal assistance (RFA)? If not, why not? • Does the government acknowledge that emergency response capacity in Northwestern Ontario is over capacity? If not, what evidence are they relying on? • What is the provincial plan if evacuation host communities reach capacity? Many are there already. • Who is coordinating the regional response across First Nations, municipalities, and unincorporated communities? • Why are opposition MPPs reporting difficulty getting timely information needed to support their constituents? Northern Ontarians deserve clear answers NOW, not after the crisis. Thank you for amplifying, everyone. #ONPoli #NorthwesternOntario #OntarioFires #Wildfire #EmergencyManagement #OntarioCorps #ThunderBay #Solidarity

A message from a friend working in emergency management in Ontario: Northwestern Ontario needs your help. Our region is facing an unprecedented wildfire emergency. Communities across the Northwest are dealing with evacuations, hazardous smoke, extreme heat, and stretched emergency response capacity. We're hearing one message loud and clear: Where is Ontario Corps? Many of the people and organizations who would normally step up to help are themselves affected by the fires, smoke, heat, and emergency social service demands. There simply isn't enough capacity left. We need the Province to coordinate a regional response that supports all communities; First Nations, municipalities, and unincorporated areas alike. Emergencies don't stop at jurisdictional boundaries, and neither should the response. Please help amplify this message. Tag Minister Jill Dunlop @JillDunlop1 and the Premier @fordnation and share widely. We need help. We need coordination. We need it NOW. Pray for Northern Ontario. #ONPoli #NorthwesternOntario #OntarioFires #Wildfire #EmergencyManagement #OntarioCorps *Picture attributed to Stephanie Paavola and her family as they fled their home. I hope you are safe and together. #solidarity