The province has been out and working over the last few days, providing help to the hardest hit areas after the recent ice storm.
That’s according to Jill Dunlop, The Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response and MPP for Simcoe North.
“On day one we deployed our Ontario Corp resources which comprises of field officers who have been reaching out to all the impacted communities. We have some of our partners such as Team Rubicon that are out there with chain saws helping clean up in areas. We have the Salvation Army that has been deployed to offer food services at the warming centres that have been set up in all the areas and also GlobalMedic which has been integral in providing backup generators for our community.”
Officials say to date they have conducted over 2000 wellness checks, distributed over 100 personal hygiene kits, delivered over 500 meals, over 1500 have accessed municipal evacuation sites and they have 600 hours of volunteering.
Dunlop says over 3,700 hydro workers are deployed and over 18 utility companies from across Ontario are helping with restoration efforts. She says Premier Doug Ford has called on Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec and New Brunswick to send in workers as well, and they are on their way.
“You are not alone in this. This is a huge devastation that is very similar to the ‘98 ice storm,” says Dunlop. “There are boots on the ground working and huge efforts being made to ensure that all our municipalities and townships get their power up. […] We have lots of folks coming in, Ministry of Natural Resources is also sending manpower down and trucks to help with that clean up.”
Dunlop says the Ontario-wide collaboration has been amazing to see.
