MEDIA RELEASE

Friday, February 23rd, 2018

Fire Services Continue to Operate in Dryden

Dryden, ON - Fire Hall 2 Volunteer Fire Fighters are responding to emergency calls and Dryden
Fire Service is also using mutual aid agreements with Oxdrift and Wabigoon to supplement our
local services. We thank those groups very much for their support! We are committed to
maintaining normal coverage.

“Whatever disagreements we might have, everyone would agree that community safety has to
come first while we navigate a human resources matter,” said Deputy Mayor, Nick Beyak.

The City has met with volunteer firefighters and remains committed to continuing discussions,
while maintaining public safety. We (The City of Dryden) value their service.

“I believe the firefighters’ concerns can be resolved through further discussions. We encourage
our dedicated volunteer firefighters to remain ready to protect our community as we work
through these matters,” said Deputy Mayor Beyak.

Regarding the Human Resources matters that have raised concerns, all employers have
professional obligations to maintain privacy and confidentiality in employee matters. Those
expectations are important. We will discuss these Human Resources matters to the extent that
we can, while meeting our responsibilities as an employer.

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For further inquiries, please contact:

Ernie Remillard, Chief Administrative Officer Nick Beyak, Deputy Mayor

The City of Dryden The City of Dryden
807-938-8786 807-223-1147
eremillard@dryden.ca nbeyak@dryden.ca
 Questions and Answers

Q. Will you meet with the volunteer firefighters?

Absolutely. The City has been meeting with them and we were expecting future discussions.
This is a Human Resources matter and we are confident that we can resolve it through further
discussions.

The first thing that Deputy Mayor Nick Beyak did this morning was pick up the phone, and call
Dryden Fire Fighters Association President, Mr. Chris Stoiber. We are sure that we will be talking
further about this matter.

Q. Does the Fire Chief have the support of the City?

Yes. Chief Ryan Murrell has our full confidence.

Q. Will you give them their jobs back?

This is a specific question about City employees, and we must respect confidentiality of our
staff.

We have an Human Resources matter that involves expectations for behaviour in the
workplace. We are working with our volunteers to ensure those expectations are shared.

Q. What did these volunteer firefighters do?

As an employer, we must respect the privacy of employees. In our minds, this matter can be
resolved.