Premier Doug Ford defends province’s response to northwestern Ontario wildfire situation

As wildfires continue to rage across northern Ontario and thick smoke drifts across the U.S. border, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has responded to criticism over the province's emergency preparedness response. "We are throwing every single resource we can. When you have 191 infernos running right across our province, we're deploying it based on the firefighters expertise. We aren't experts, they're the experts,” Ford said Friday at the provincial emergency operations centre in Toronto. Addressing claims from Collins First Nation Chief Helen Angela Paavola that the government did not respond to requests for aid — or even warn impacted communities to evacuate in sufficient time — Ford said, “I've talked to a number of chiefs and telling them that we're there to support them. But what's a miracle is that no one's lost their lives.” Ontario’s natural resources minister, Mike Harris, expanded on Ford’s remark, saying, “From the time the fire was spotted to the time it was essentially on top of everybody was only within a couple of hours. So, we did our best,” adding the fire in Collins First Nation “was spreading at a rate of 4 km/h, which he said was “unheard of.” Ford then addressed what he called “despicable and disgusting” behaviour from opposition parties to politicize the province’s wildfire forecasted budget and actual spends. “We will not put a price on the safety of our communities, and I mean it when I say that we will spare no expense,” the premier said. Furthermore, Ford sent a message to U.S. officials complaining about spreading wildfire smoke, asking them to “send support… rather than complain.” For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/11968389/o... Subscribe to Global News Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/20fcXDc Follow Global News on X HERE: http://bit.ly/1Toz8mt Follow Global News on TikTok HERE: https://www.tiktok.com/@globalnews.ca... #ford #ontariowildfires #wildfires #GlobalNews