Canada’s wildfire response infrastructure is failing when lives depend on it

Wildfires require unprecedented co-ordination across jurisdictions and countries. Yet our communication infrastructure remains siloed, fragmented, and vulnerable to the conditions these disasters create.

As thousands of people evacuate due to raging wildfires, our communications infrastructure is breaking down exactly when emergency responders and evacuees need it, writes Kevin Fernandes.Photograph courtesy of the Government of Manitoba

Opinion

BY KEVIN FERNANDES

July 9, 2025

Over 33,000 Canadians have been forced from their homes by wildfires raging across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. But there's a crisis within this crisis that isn't making headlines: the breakdown of communication infrastructure exactly when emergency responders and ev...

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