Ontario emergency minister pulled from CBC wildfire interview on air

Ontario Emergency Preparedness Minister Jill Dunlop was pulled from a live CBC Radio interview by a staffer on Tuesday while discussing the province's response to northern Ontario wildfires.

About eight minutes into the As It Happens segment, after Dunlop answered a question about why communication between the province and affected communities had not occurred earlier, a staffer interrupted. "Hi there, let's just wrap it up now if that's okay," the staffer said. Host Nil Köksal asked for three more minutes to finish, but the staffer declined and hung up.

Dunlop's office is responsible for co-ordinating emergency evacuations, shelter, and wraparound services as wildfires burn across northwestern Ontario. Several community leaders, including First Nations chiefs, have criticized the province's response as slow, disorganized, and unco-ordinated. When Köksal raised those concerns, Dunlop said her department held "co-ordination calls every day with the communities."

The abrupt end drew immediate criticism from opposition politicians. Interim Ontario Liberal Leader John Fraser called the exchange "unbelievable" on social media. As of Wednesday, 146 active wildfires were burning in Ontario with 2,415 people evacuated from 13 communities. The communities of Namaygoosisagagun First Nation and Whitewater Lake First Nation have been completely destroyed. Ontario First Nations chiefs have called for a public inquiry into the wildfire response.