Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources is looking to strengthen protections against wildland fires and hazardous oil and gas wells.
Brought forward May 27, the Resource Management and Safety Act 2025 hopes to protect Ontario’s long-term prosperity while giving communities the opportunity to protect themselves.
And it has the interest of Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Canniff in the wake of the Wheatley gas explosion in 2021.
If passed, the act has a three-pronged approach. It will modernize the Forest Fires Prevention Act, by incorporating new requirements for wildland fire management plans and imposing stricter penalties for violators in order to reduce the risk of human-caused fires.
Changes to the Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Act are also proposed. New legislation would allow the ministry to take immediate action to address hazardous oil and gas wells when the operator is non-compliant with a ministry order in circumstances such as death or bankruptcy.
Canniff praised the province for stepping up to reduce the impact of oil and gas well emergencies in the future.
“The legislative changes proposed are a necessary step to protecting our resources and enhancing community safety,” said Canniff in a media release.
