Republican Lawmakers Are Trying to Punish Canada for Wildfire Smoke

Congressional Republicans are demanding action and threatening the Canadian government with sanctions and other punitive measures in response to the wildfires that have sent plumes of smoke across the Midwest and Northeast, worsening air-quality conditions.

The recriminations kicked off this week when four lawmakers in Michigan’s Republican delegation penned a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, calling for accountability for the smoke traveling across the border.

“We are done accepting apologies in place of action,” said the letter, signed by Reps. Jack Bergman, John James, Lisa McClain and John Moolenaar. “If Canada will not manage its forests to prevent these fires, the United States will look elsewhere, and act on our own, to protect our people. That means our own agencies exploring direct involvement in cross-border fuel reduction and firefighting capacity.”

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) took a more aggressive approach, with the introduction of a bill titled the “Countering Atmospheric Nuisances Arising from Drifting Airborne Foreign Incendiary Residual Emissions Act,” also known as the “CANADA FIRE Act.”

Moreno’s bill would require President Donald Trump to determine whether the Canadian government failed to take action to mitigate the wildfires, issue sanctions and revoke visas for sanctioned officials. It also asks for Secretary of State Marco Rubio to consider deeming Canadian diplomats “persona non grata.”

But it’s not clear officials could do much to eliminate the annual blazes that have torn across Canada in recent years.

There are currently about 900 active wildfires in Canada, a majority of which are burning “out of control” in the country’s boreal forest, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. The boreal forest spans the country’s vast north, consisting of rural areas with highly flammable spruce and pine trees. The remote landscape is difficult to access and can lead to tall flames that pose a threat to the lives of firefighters.

Canada’s last three wildfire seasons have been among the worst in the country’s history due to climate change, according to the Canada Climate Institute.

Carney did not answer questions regarding the Michigan representatives’ letter during a news conference in Ontario on Thursday, according to Canadian outlet CBC News.

“Climate change is everyone’s responsibility — truly everyone’s — including the United States,” Carney said.