THUNDER BAY — Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles brought her All In for Ontario summer tour to Thunder Bay on Monday.
Stiles said the tour is about bringing politics “back to the people” during the summer legislative break, which has seen the Ontario legislature prorogued until October.
During her visit she lambasted Premier Doug Ford’s handling of wildfires, forestry, housing, and Indigenous relations.
“While he’s at the cottage in Muskoka, we’re on the road, listening, organizing, and fighting to build a better Ontario,” Stiles said during her visit to the city.
Joined by Thunder Bay–Superior North MPP Lise Vaugeois, Stiles toured the Domtar sawmill, met with Unifor Local 5025, held discussions with Fort William First Nation Chief Michele Solomon.
Stiles' itinerary also includes a public event at north-end dry bar Howl at The Moon, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday.
Wildfires: “Doug Ford is letting Ontario burn”
Stiles opened her remarks by thanking wildland firefighters for their frontline work, then sharply criticized the Ford government's management of forest fire response.
“We know there are at least two planes currently grounded, and we’re very concerned about the safety of northern communities and the wildland firefighters themselves,” she said.
Last month, the union representing forest fire pilots said eight of their aircraft were grounded due to understaffing.
“They’re not coming back because they’re not being paid properly. They’re not even being categorized as firefighters,” Vaugeois said.
“They don’t have enough experienced people in the field, and that’s why they’re now making the crews bigger; they have more inexperienced workers being led by fewer experienced ones.”
According to Vaugeois, the number of wildfire crews in the province dropped from a recommended 185 to just 143 last year, as fire seasons worsen.
“Seven communities have already been evacuated. That’s a tragedy. People are sent away on trains while their homes are surrounded by smoke. And there’s still no serious investment in this absolutely essential work.”
Stiles blames the Ford government’s policy decisions: “Doug Ford is letting Ontario burn, and I would say that he is lying to Ontarians about what the government is actually willing to do to fight those fires,”
Forestry Crisis: “Buy It Here. Build It Here.”
Another major concern was the looming 34 per cent softwood lumber tariff imposed by the United States, which Stiles said northern Ontario mills like Domtar, and the workers who rely on them, simply cannot survive.
“We are hearing loud and clear from industry leaders that the upcoming 34 per cent tariff is unlike anything they’ve ever seen,” Stiles said.
“The head of the Ontario Forest Industries Association told us this is not something their members can sustain.”
Stiles called on both the federal and provincial governments to urgently back Ontario’s forestry sector with investment and a clear strategy, including a plan to build homes using Ontario wood.
“Let’s build homes here with Ontario lumber and solve multiple problems at once,” she said, referencing Domtar’s capacity to supply enough lumber to build 85,000 homes per year.
Vaugeois praised the quality of northern Ontario lumber, noting that it's in demand across the border even under existing tariffs.
“The lumber we produce here in northwestern Ontario is without comparison. Even with the softwood tariffs, it’s still the preferred source of building material in the U.S.,” she said.
“We can buy it here. We can build here. We can build the homes we need. So where is the affordable housing?”
Indigenous Rights: “Bill 5 Is a Step Backwards”
“It’s a ridiculous power grab,” Stiles said of the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act (Bill 5).
“It's going to set us back generations, and that’s going to slow down projects.”
Vaugeois pointed to examples of successful, community-approved developments such as the Generation Mining project near Marathon and Biigtigong Nishnaabeg (also known as Pic River First Nation).
“We don’t need these draconian bills to have partnerships,” she said.
She also pushed back against the Ford government’s narrow focus on the Ring of Fire as the only major opportunity for mining in the North.
“Doug Ford has made the Ring of Fire a symbolic win, but there are many other mines throughout northwestern Ontario, not all in peatlands or protected territory,” Vaugeois said.
Stiles wrapped up her Thunder Bay stop with a message aimed at both Queen’s Park and Washington, D.C.
“We cannot afford to allow Donald Trump to take so many of our jobs and opportunities away from us without fighting like hell for every single one."
