The Ontario government announced last month a $20 million grant for fire services across the province to support firefighter training for handling lithium-ion battery-related fires and for cancer prevention equipment. The fund was doubled from the previous year, which was also the first year the province offered the funding. Nearly $400,000 was split locally across the six fire services in the riding, with South Dundas receiving $50,000. While this is a good start, the funding nowhere covers the real needs for fire services, especially rural fire services, in Ontario.
Most of the rural fire services that received money through this $20 million program will use it for cancer prevention for paid on-call firefighters. That equipment may include new bunker gear and equipment for bunker gear decontamination. It has been well established there is a link between firefighting and increased cancer rates. The province has done right by firefighters in broadening through legislation what is considered a line-of-duty illness or death relating to cancer. The impact of that was felt here in recent years. Still, $20 million in support spread across the 437 fire services across the province is a drop in the bucket.
During last week’s local announcement, local MPP and government minister Nolan Quinn was asked by The Leader, when the province is expanding the electricity grid, adding battery energy storage and charging stations, is the funding for firefighter training and equipment so low, and why do fire services have to fundraise for the essentials? Quinn justified the funding, saying the amount is double that from last year, and that before then, this fund did not exist. That is true, but explaining what has been done in the past does not answer why funding for training and equipment for firefighters continues to be so low.
As it has been stated on these editorial pages, and those of other media outlets, the Ford government has been very good overall in funding bricks and mortar construction. If a community needs a new hospital, fire station, school, or long-term care home, the province has been there. Yes, there are some funding questions involving changing the LTC funding model in the middle of the Dundas Manor construction in Winchester, but that has also been covered by another editorial.
Building things, whether it is a bridge, a road, or a sewer/water line, is relatively easy for this government and Premier Doug Ford to support. Where this government continues to fall down on is funding the equipment and people needed to properly operate and provide those front-line services. It should not be incumbent on local communities, after paying the various taxes, to have to dig deep to raise funds within their community for equipment to keep their front-line workers safe. After all, those workers are the real heroes of any front-line service.
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