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Military evacuates hundreds as wildfires rip through northern Ontario
More than 900 people have been evacuated from a remote community in northern Ontario using massive military transport planes as out-of-control wildfires spread across the province.
On Sunday, Ontario asked the federal government to dispatch military personnel to help evacuate the community of Sandy Lake after a nearby fire expanded, doubling in size toward the edge of town in a few hours.
Defence personnel said they had evacuated more than 900 people by Monday afternoon.
The evacuations mark the latest twist in an already busy fire season in the province, one critics argue the Ontario government failed to prepare for.
Data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre shows that the area of Ontario burned so far this year is already 38 times higher than it was last year.
The province has recorded 174 fires to date, compared with 97 last year. The 174 fires so far this year are above the five- and 10-year average for Ontario.
For years, advocates, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union and internal documents have all warned Ontario is unprepared for a major fire season.
A government task force report in 2016, for example, warned that wildland forest fire rangers were quitting at an alarming rate and were being replaced with a dwindling number of inexperienced recruits. An aging fleet of waterbombers and other firefighting planes has also been hit with problems that saw them grounded for periods last summer.
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Advocates and the union representing front-line firefighters have advocated for better pay to attract more full-time firefighters. They have also pushed to be reclassified as an emergency service to improve cancer coverage and for more year-round career opportunities.
As of Monday, Ontario is mounting a full response to six out-of-control fires and another seven under control. The 13 fires total 216,225 hectares in size. With the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre rating the province’s current ability to respond as “poor,” the province has been forced to call in fresh resources.
Two CL-415 water bombers were sent to the province Monday, according to the fire centre. Firefighters from other provinces were also shipped in to help, along with a team of five from Wisconsin.
Those fighting fire on the front lines have experienced close to three-week work stints without a break and fear burnout.
“Short staffing hasn’t meant we have more fire on the landscape than we would have if we were fully staffed, but it means we’re already on our second group of imported crews from B.C.,” said Eric Davidson, Ontario Wildfire Association president.
Davidson, who has been fighting fire in Ontario for 12 years, spoke to Global News to share his experience, not on behalf of the Ontario government or its firefighting operations.
“It means many crews are already on their second 19-day stretch,” he continued. “If the summer continues like the spring, it won’t take long to burn everyone out. Right now, crews get off a fire and are right back into the top of the alert rotation.”
Ontario NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa, whose riding includes the Sandy Lake community being evacuated, said the government had ignored warnings that the fire program was unprepared.
“I think over the last few summers, we’ve been warning people, letting the government know that we need to be prepared,” he said. “We need to have the proper resources, proper planes and also planning to do the evacuations.”
He suggested that, with better resources, the worst of the current fires “perhaps could have (been) avoided.”
Global News asked the government about short-staffing on crews, but the Ministry of Natural Resources did not address the question.
A spokesperson said there were more than 50 helicopters and water bombers involved in the firefighting.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
TORONTO – Dr. Ron Taylor, a two-time World Series-winning pitcher and longtime Toronto Blue Jays team physician, has died. He was 87.
The Blue Jays confirmed Taylor’s death in a statement Monday. A cause of death was not provided.
Taylor, who was born in Toronto on Dec. 13, 1937, played 10 seasons in the majors from 1962 to 1972 after signing with the Cleveland Indians in 1955.
He threw 11 scoreless innings at Fenway Park in his big league debut on April 11, 1962, before surrendering a 12th-inning grand slam in a 4-0 defeat.
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He joined the St. Louis Cardinals in 1963 and helped them win a World Series the following year.
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He was a key member of the 1969 “Miracle Mets” championship team. He earned a win out of the bullpen against Atlanta. Louis in the National League Championship Series, then surrendered no hits in 2 1/3 innings with a save in two appearances in the World Series against the favoured Baltimore Orioles.
Taylor also pitched with Houston and San Diego. He had a career 45-43 record with a 3.93 earned-run average, 464 strikeouts and 74 saves.
After retiring in 1972, he returned to Toronto and received a medical degree from the University of Toronto in 1977.
He joined the Blue Jays as team physician in 1979 and earned the nickname “Dr. Baseball” as he served in the role for 30 years, a span that included the team’s World Series titles in 1992 and 1993.
Taylor was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. He was appointed to the Order of Ontario by Lieutenant Governor James Bartleman in 2005.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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Jagmeet Singh apologizes for attending Kendrick Lamar concert after Drake calls him out
Jagmeet Singh has issued an apology on social media for attending a Kendrick Lamar concert in Toronto over the weekend after receiving sharp criticism from fans and rapper Drake.
Singh, the former federal NDP leader, was spotted inside the Rogers Centre during one of Lamar’s back-to-back Toronto shows, part of the Grand National Tour with SZA. It’s not clear what show he attended, but photos of Singh at the event quickly began circulating online, drawing attention to his controversial attendance.
Drake publicly weighed in on Singh’s decision by posting a screenshot of an Instagram message he sent to Singh, saying, “You’re a goof.”
Drake calls out former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh for attending a Kendrick Lamar concert.
Drake/ Instagram Screengrab
Singh responded publicly just hours later, explaining himself in an Instagram story. “I went for SZA, not Kendrick,” Singh wrote. “I was born in this city. I love this city. But real talk, I get it. I shouldn’t have gone at all.”
Former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh apologized after Drake called him out for attending a Kendrick Lamar concert in Toronto, amid an ongoing feud between the two rappers.
Jagmeet Singh / Instagram Screenshot
The apology comes amid heightened tensions in the hip-hop world.
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Lamar’s Toronto shows were his first in the city since a highly publicized feud between the two rappers.
One of the most viral moments from the concerts came during Lamar’s performance of Not Like Us, a diss track aimed at Drake. The song earned a standing ovation and chants of “one more time” from the crowd.
Despite the response, the track has sparked legal action from Drake, who is suing Universal Music Group, which represents both Lamar and SZA, claiming the song falsely portrays him as a pedophile and has endangered his safety.
None of the allegations in the lawsuit have been tested in court.
In his statement, Singh made it clear he didn’t intend to take sides but acknowledged his stance over social media.
“OVO and Drake have lifted this city and Canada,” Singh said. “For me, it’ll always be Drake over Kendrick.”
– With files from the Canadian Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Police in Hanover, Ont., have released an image of a “destroyed” vehicle which they say had been set on fire shortly after a fatal hit and run in the small Ontario community last week.
On Wednesday at around 5:20 p.m., police said emergency services were dispatched to the entrance to Hanover Park after a hit-and-run collision involving a pedestrian had been reported.
Police said 66-year-old Hanover resident Sheila Lamont was crossing the street when she was hit by a vehicle, which fled the scene at a high rate of speed.
Lamont was transported to an area hospital by paramedics where she later died due to her injuries.
“Shortly before the collision it was determined the suspect vehicle had travelled along Concession 2 SDR in the former Brant Township, also known as Southline,” a release from police read.
“The vehicle went northbound past the Hanover and District Hospital onto 7th Avenue driving in an erratic manner before striking the pedestrian at the Hanover Park. After the collision, the suspect vehicle continued northbound on Bruce County Road 10, turning westbound on Concession 4 in the former Brant Township.”
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Two days later, Hanover police chief posted a picture of a burnt-up 2008 Chrysler PT Cruiser on X, saying that further details were to follow.
Deputy Chief George Hebblethwaite told Global News on Monday morning that a tip had led them to find the destroyed vehicle in the brush near Morry’s Trailer Sales on Sideroad 25.
“We were speaking with someone who we had been given the name of, and that person turned out to have some information which led us to the car,” he said.
Police believe the fire occurred within a couple of hours of the initial crash and that the vehicle has been examined by OPP forensic officers.
In a release on Sunday police said that “the registered owner of the PT Cruiser has been interviewed and is cooperating fully with the investigation. Although this person was the registered owner, they never had care or control of the vehicle since it was purchased.”
Hebblethwaite also told Global News that police expect to make an arrest on Monday in connection with the case.
“There is a person that we are seeking,” he explained, adding they expect to make an announcement Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning.
Hanover is a town of around 8,000 people in Grey County about 100 kilometres north of Kitchener.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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