TORONTO — Ontario plans to give front-line wildland firefighters and pilots a $5,000 bonus and make 100 of those jobs permanent in an effort to recruit and retain more workers.
But the union representing those fire rangers says it's little more than a drop in the bucket and will not fix the "dire and ongoing crisis."
Smith says the government is working on longer-term plans to stabilize the workforce, which will include the purchase of new equipment, including water bombers. "We want to have more people fighting wildland fires in Ontario and so this is a recruitment and retention tool, both," Smith said in an interview.
More than 500 Ontario fire rangers fought blazes in British Columbia and Northwest Territories last year.
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