Ontario wildfire response fans fires of distrust

With the provincial government keeping a low profile and a dearth of solid information, some of the people impacted by the wildfires raging in Ontario's north are seeking alternative explanations.

Katlin and Conrad G. Nodin, a sister and brother from Whitesand First Nation, arrived Tuesday morning in Thunder Bay, which has become the primary evacuation hub for those fleeing the flames. They just returned from fighting a blaze in Atikokan, two hours west. Despite the ongoing danger, the siblings were eager to return home to assess the situation, fueled by a worry that the government did not do enough to protect the structures that make up their community.

They’re not the only ones. Leaders of the Whitesand First Nation, which evacuated ahead of a fast-moving wildfire on Monday night, took Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to task at a press conference on Thursday afternoon. “The province stepped up way too late,” Darian Baskatawang, senior advisor at Whitesand First Nation, said.

The province’s response “did not reflect the urgency of the situation” and the Nation’s chief and council are “deeply disappointed” MNR was so slow to act, according to a news release from the Nation. The release said the community had to repeatedly ask the MNR to issue a mandatory evacuation notice. Throughout the day, the province told Whitesand the smoke was coming from more distant fires and there was no immediate threat.

The release cites a quote from the MNR that they “didn’t see the fire” that tore through the neighbouring community of Collins “until it was too late,” due to a strain on resources with many fires burning in the area. On one hand, provincial officials were telling Whitesand there was no need to worry about the fires, but then five hours later conceded that “we might consider evacuating,” Baskatawang said. This delay had tangible impacts on people: one community member told the press he didn’t even have time to grab a pair of socks as he rushed to evacuate.

“Why is the MNR so under-resourced and understaffed that they couldn't see fires that are happening so close to different communities?” Baskatawang said, adding that one of the evacuated towns, Armstrong, actually houses a MNR fire attack base. “They don't have the resources necessary to protect full towns, even where their bases are.

So if they can’t protect a base or a town that has one of their bases, what are they doing?” Baskatawang asked. Canada’s National Observer reported in June that the Ford government had earmarked just $150 million for wildfires this year, despite spending double that much last year — an under-budgeting decision that wildland firefighter Noah Freedman said left crews scrambling.

Canada’s National Observer emailed the MNR, Ministry of Emergency Preparedness and Response and Ministry of Energy and Mines for comment on the First Nation’s criticisms. No one from the Government of Ontario acknowledged receipt of the request. Additional requests from CNO made through other media contacts also went unacknowledged.

The wildfires are also fanning flames at the US-Canada border, as the smoke (from Canada and northeastern US) chokes American cities for the second year in a row. Some US lawmakers have even threatened Canadian sovereignty over the persistent problem, with four Republican members of Congress calling the wildfires “a crisis that Canada has the tools to prevent and has chosen not to” in a repeat of the misinformation-laden letter released by a different group of Republican lawmakers last year. With the provincial government keeping a low profile and a dearth of solid information, some community members told Canada’s National Observer they feel something more sinister is at play.

Wild speculation in an information vacuum Speaking outside the Superior Inn on Wednesday, a group of three volunteer firefighters from Whitesand First Nation, who used the names Maverick, Wallace and El Gizmo, all expressed concerns about Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s move to create Special Economic Zones in northern Ontario, which would allow for expedited development of natural resource extraction and other projects, including the Ring of Fire. They fear that if all of their homes are gone, razed by wildfires, it will be easier for the province or industry to start mining in their community.

While there are some mining claims near Whitesand First Nation and Armstrong, the bulk of claims are further north and east in the province. The young firefighters showed a video on a cellphone that appears to show satellite imagery of the fire starts. The video appears to show a line of smoke plumes rapidly appearing west of Armstrong before spreading toward the community.

The three firefighters voiced suspicions about how all the fires could have started at the same time. (Fires often start close together because of the presence of widespread thunderstorms and dry conditions.) When asked about the distrust expressed by members of the community in the MNR’s response, Whitesand First Nation Incident Commander Devon Wanakamik said they’re “not blaming anyone,” but asked, “Why isn’t our community prioritized due to its size?”

Wanakamik asked the community to be patient in this time of crisis. “I know this is scary, I know emotions are kicking in,” he said. “I know everyone is eager to go back to the community and assist any way they can, but we’re trying to prevent a [loss of] human life.

A house is replaceable; we can rebuild.” Theories like those floated by Maverick, Wallace and El Gizmo are often formulated as an explanation when there doesn’t seem to be one, Greg Garrad, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus, said in an interview with Canada’s National Observer. These questions could include why volunteer firefighters weren't allowed to defend their communities or why the evacuation order was delayed.

When people are left to fill in the gaps, their explanations aren’t always based in fact, but “they're giving those in a context where otherwise it's hard to understand what happened,” Garrad said. His research specializes in wildfire communication and misinformation. “It's really important that these sort of anxieties, these concerns are taken seriously,” he said, adding that most people want to be seen and have their concerns acknowledged.

He stressed that Canada should repeal the Online News Act — which led Meta to exclude Canadian news sources from Facebook — because barring verified news sources allows wildfire misinformation to spread freely on Meta’s platforms. A pattern of mistrust The community’s distrust of the provincial government should be understood as part of a much longer timeline and pattern of behaviour, Anne Pasek, an associate professor at Trent University, said in a phone interview with Canada’s National Observer. “I have a sense that these communities probably have past tension with how they've been treated by different higher levels of government jurisdiction,” Pasek said.

The Whitesand First Nation’s press release directly