John Vanthof is urging Ontario solicitor-general Michael Kerzner to change how volunteer firefighters are certified before we lose small, rural fire departments.
The Cochrane-Timiskaming New Democrat MPP says Iroquois Falls fire chief Dan Boucher tells him that because volunteers have full-time jobs, certification times don’t always work.
“A lot of people don’t realize the jaws of life, auto extrication on the Trans-Canada Highway in many areas are provided by volunteer fire departments,” he told the legislature.
“You can’t work in a mine for 40 hours and home one week out of four and expect that you have to take time off to go for the certification.”
Vanthof is imploring Kerzner to work with the departments so they don’t lose their volunteers.
