Ontario faces crew shortages, aircraft issues in fight against wildfires

As Ontario's forest fire season gets underway, Global News can reveal that one in five crews are unstaffed across the north. The program also faces issues with its aircraft.

As the Ford government throws recruitment bonuses at its struggling forest fire program ahead of a potentially difficult season in the north, Global News can reveal one in five of its crews are unstaffed while several aircraft key to the province’s operations are weeks behind schedule.

Ontario’s fire season officially began on April 1, after a tough campaign across the country during the summer of 2023.

Opposition politicians and unionized forest firefighters have been critical of the Ford government’s management of the wildland fire program, which has struggled with recruitment and retention issues for years.

With the firefighting season now formally underway, Global News has learned that just 80 per cent of the province’s crews are staffed across the province.

One base, Red Lake, has a vacancy rate of more than 50 per cent, while 70 per cent of crews are unstaffed at another in the north. Overall, just 143 of the 189 crews the province needs have been filled.

The low staffing levels come despite an attempt from the government to “attract, retain and recognize” forest firefighters with a $5,000 bonus. The money was framed as a one-off incentive by the province but labelled a “band-aid response” by the union that represents firefighters.

“Wildland firefighting staff work tirelessly under very difficult conditions to protect the health and safety of Ontarians, their property and our natural resources,” Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry Graydon Smith said in late March.

“In addition to this incentive, we continue to explore longer-term strategies and solutions to support attraction and retention of critical jobs for future years.”